''Lyonpo'' Sangay Ngedup (, , born 1 July 1953) was Prime Minister of

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2006.

Biography

Sangay Ngedup was born in Nobgang village in

Punakha Punakha () is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thim ...

. He is the second child and eldest son in a family of three brothers and six sisters. Four of his sisters are married to the former King of Bhutan,

Jigme Singye Wangchuck Jigme Singye Wangchuck (, ; born 11 November 1955) is the fourth Druk Gyalpo ( Dragon King) of Bhutan, reigning from 1972 to 2006. He is the father of the present King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck. He is the only son of five ch ...

. His father, ''Yab Dasho'' Ugyen Dorji (1925–2019), was the Founder and Proprietor of Ugyen Academy (03/04/2002). His mother is ''Yum'' Thuiji Zam (b. 1932). His two brothers are: * ''Dasho'' Ugyen Tsechup (b. 1964). * ''Dasho'' Topgay (b. 1966). His six sisters are: * ''Ashi'' Beda (b. 1951). * HM ''Ashi'' Dorji Wangmo (b. 1955). * HM ''Ashi'' Tshering Pem (b. 1957). * HM ''Ashi'' Tshering Yangdon (b. 1959), mother of King

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (born 21 February 1980) is the fifth Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan. His reign began in 2006 after his father Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated the throne. A public coronation ceremony was held on 6 November ...

. * HM ''Ashi'' Sangay Choden (b 1963). * ''Ashi'' Sonam Choden (b. 1969). He graduated from

Dr. Graham's Homes Dr. Graham's Homes (formerly St. Andrew's Colonial Homes) was founded in 1900 by John Anderson Graham, a missionary of the Church of Scotland, who settled in Kalimpong and worked with the local community for several years during the turn of the ...

Kalimpong Kalimpong is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The region comes under Gorkhaland Territo ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and completed his tertiary education at St. Stephen's College in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. In 1976, he joined the Bhutanese foreign service, and attended diplomatic courses in Australia and New Delhi. In 1977, ''Lyonpo'' Sangay Ngedup served at the permanent mission of

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and later as second (and later first) secretary in the Royal Bhutan Embassy in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. In 1989, ''Lyonpo'' Sangay Ngedup was appointed as Ambassador to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. He was transferred as the Director of Trade and Industry in 1989 and then as the joint secretary of the Planning Commission in April 1991. He became the Director General of Health in 1992. In 1998 he became Minister of Health and Education, and he served as Prime Minister from July 9, 1999, until July 20, 2000. He was Minister of Agriculture from 2003 to 2007, and on September 5, 2005, was appointed as Prime Minister again, serving until September 7, 2006. In July 2007 he resigned from the government, together with Prime Minister ''Lyonpo'' Khandu Wangchuk and five other ministers, to enter politics and prepare for the country's first ever democratic election in 2008."Caretaker prime minister appointed in Bhutan"
, Indo-Asian News Service (hindustantimes.com), 3 August 2007. ''Lyonpo'' Sangay Ngedup, whose demonstrated leadership style is democratic, was unanimously elected as president and leader of the newly constituted People's Democratic Party. In his presidential debate, the first ever held in February 2008, ''Lyonpo'' Sangay Ngedup has promised that, if he wins the election, he would base his policies of governing on

Gross National Happiness Gross National Happiness, (GNH; ) sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index used to measure a population's collective happiness and well-being. The Gross National Ha ...

(GNH), a philosophy (coined by the fourth king

, his brother-in-law) that states that happiness is more important than material growth for the people. He led his party during the election, held on March 24, 2008, but lost in his own

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

; the People's Democratic Party took only two seats of a possible 47 in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. ''Lyonpo'' Sangay Ngedup was awarded the

Red Scarf The red scarf is a neckerchief worn by young pioneers of several communist and socialist countries. In the Soviet Union, it was known as ''pionerskiy galstuk'' (пионерский галстук, i.e. 'pioneer's tie'), in Vietnam as ''khăn q ...

by His Majesty the King on August 24, 1987, and the Orange Scarf on January 1, 1998. In 2002 he undertook with six other members th
Move for Health Walk
from

Trashigang Trashigang (), or Tashigang, meaning "fortress of auspicious mount," is a town in eastern Bhutan and the district capital of the Trashigang Dzongkhag (district). The town lies to the east side of the valley above the Drangme Chhu river just s ...

to the capital city of

Thimphu Thimphu (; ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's '' dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replac ...

covering on foot a distance of 560 km concluded successfully as scheduled. The Walk was conceived by ''Lyonpo'' Sangay Ngedup to promote the fund-raising for th
Bhutan Health Trust Fund
, an important initiative to keep the primary health services of

free of charge. On 8 September 2015, he received the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

’s excellence in public health award. ''Lyonpo'' Sangay Ngedup is the Honorary President of the Bhutan Scouts Association.

Ancestry

References

External links

Sangay Ngedup's Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngedup, Lyonpo Sangay 1953 births Living people Scouting in Bhutan Prime ministers of Bhutan Ambassadors of Bhutan to Kuwait People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) politicians People from Punakha District Agriculture ministers of Bhutan Health ministers of Bhutan