Be loved new King of Bhutan

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (born February 21, 1980) is the fifth Dragon King of Bhutan and head of the Wangchuck dynasty. He became king on 14 December 2006, and was officially crowned on 6 November 2008. At age 28, Khesar is currently the world's youngest monarch and head of state.

The young king began his unusual reign overseeing the democratization of his country, by presiding over the last sessions of the present parliament where electoral laws, land reform and other important issues were deliberated. He stated that the responsibility of this generation for Bhutanese was to ensure the success of democracy.

Bhutan is nestled between China and India, the tiny nation is hard to get to (it's accessed by exactly one government airline, which counts among its fleet exactly two planes) and harder to get into, with the visa process lengthy and the compulsory tourist tariff high (about $200 a day). Its remoteness and seclusion—tourists weren't allowed in until the '70s, and television and Internet less than a decade ago—have kept its customs and principles, such as promoting Gross National Happiness over Gross National Product, intact.




Since his father abdicated the throne to him in December 2006, Jigme has been putting into action what his father put into plan: trying to figure out how to retain his culture's uniqueness while simultaneously leading Bhutan into unprecedented participation in contemporary politics and economics.

However modern he might be, the young ruler has pledged to continue the country's success in preserving Bhutan's traditions while opening its doors to prosperity. Bhutan had no roads or currency until the 1960s and allowed television only in 1999. Mass tourism is discouraged by steep entry fees.



The insularity of Bhutan is
explainable. As a repository of Himalayan Buddhist culture, the country is sandwiched between 1.1 billion Indians to the south and 1.3 billion Chinese to the north.
These two Asian giants have already swallowed the other Buddhist kingdoms, like Sikkim or Tibet, that once thrived across the Himalayan range.This has had side-effects. In the early 1990s, Bhutan forced out 100,000 ethnic Nepalese during a campaign to impose compulsory national dress and ban the Nepalese language.



These refugees ended up in Nepal, which saw a Maoist rebel movement, which overthrew the monarchy. "The region has seen bad endings for kings. It's something the Bhutanese wanted to avoid," said one western diplomat.

He was supposed to look on regally from on high as warriors, monks and masked dancers celebrated his coronation, but Bhutan's new Dragon King instead showed royal star quality by descending to mingle with the crowds.

Bhutan-King: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.