Dzongpen

Dzongpen(Dzongkha:རྗོང་དཔོན་;Wylie:rjong-dpon;also spelled "Dzongpon," "Dzongpön," "Jongpen," "Jongpon," "Jongpön" ) is aDzongkhaterm roughly translated as governor ordzonglord.Bhutanesedzongpens, prior to unification, controlled certain areas of the country, but now hold no administrative office. Rather, dzongpens are now entirely subservient to theHouse of Wangchuck.

Traditionally, Bhutan comprised nine provinces:Trongsa,Paro,Punakha,Wangdue Phodrang,Daga(also Taka, Tarka, or Taga),Bumthang,Thimphu,Kurtoed(also Kurtoi, Kuru-tod), andKurmaed(or Kurme, Kuru-mad).The Provinces of Kurtoed and Kurmaed were combined into one local administration, leaving the traditional number of governors at eight. While some lords ruled fromdzongs(dzongpens), others held the title ofpenlop(Dzongkha:དཔོན་སློབ་;Wylie:dpon-slob;also "Ponlop" ), a title also translated as "governor," though penlops tended to be more powerful.

Dzongpens ruled inByagha,Dalay,Dalingkote,Ha,Kham,Punakha(the "Punab" ),Singhi,Tashichho Dzong,Thimphu(the "Thimphub" ),Tuwa,andWangdue Phodrang(the "Wangzob" ).

Under thedual system of government,penlopsand dzongpens were theoretically masters of their own realms but servants of theDruk Desi.In practice, however, they were under minimal central government control, and thePenlop of Trongsaand Penlop of Paro dominated the rest of the local lords.And while all governor posts were officially appointed byShabdrungNgawang Namgyal,later theDruk Desi,some offices such as thePenlop of Trongsawerede factohereditary and appointed within certain families. Penlops and dzongpens often held other government offices such asDruk Desi,governor of other provinces, or a second or third term in the same office.

History

Main articles:Dual system of government,History of Bhutan,andUgyen Wangchuck

Under Bhutan's early theocraticdual system of government,decreasingly effective central government control resulted in thede factodisintegration of the office ofShabdrungafter the death of ShabdrungNgawang Namgyalin 1651. Under this system, the Shabdrung reigned over the temporalDruk Desiand religiousJe Khenpo.Two successor Shabdrungs – the son (1651) and stepbrother (1680) of Ngawang Namgyal – were effectively controlled by the Druk Desi and Je Khenpo until power was further splintered through the innovation of multiple Shabdrung incarnations, reflecting speech, mind, and body. Increasingly secular regional lords (penlopsand dzongpens) competed for power amid a backdrop of civil war over the Shabdrung and invasions fromTibet,and theMongol Empire.The penlops ofTrongsaandParo,and the dzongpons ofPunakha,Thimphu,andWangdue Phodrangwere particularly notable figures in the competition for regional dominance.

Ugyen Wangchucksurrounded by his councillors at Punakha, Bhutan, 1905. Front Row: son of Thimphu Jongpen, Punakha Jongpen, Thimphu Jongpen,Trongsa Penlop,Zung Donyer [dronyer], Deb Zimpon, and elder son of Thimphu Jongpen.

Within this political landscape, theWangchuck familyoriginated in theBumthang regionof central Bhutan.The family belongs to the Nyö clan, and is descended fromPema Lingpa,a BhutaneseNyingmapasaint. The Nyö clan emerged as a local aristocracy, supplanting many older aristocratic families of Tibetan origin that sided with Tibet during invasions of Bhutan. In doing so, the clan came to occupy the hereditary position ofPenlop of Trongsa,as well as significant national and local government positions.

ThePenlop of Trongsacontrolled central and Bhutan; the rival Penlop of Paro controlled western Bhutan; anddzongponscontrolled areas surrounding their respectivedzongs.Eastern dzongpens were generally under the control of the Penlop of Trongsa, who was officially endowed with the power to appoint them in 1853.The Penlop of Paro, unlike Trongsa, was an office appointed by theDruk Desi's central government. Because western regions controlled by the Penlop of Paro contained lucrative trade routes, it became the object of competition among aristocratic families.

Punakha Dzongpens

Punakha Dzong,administrative fortress of the Punabs

Punakha Dzong

Below are the Dzongpens ofPunakha,also called "Punab."

Punakha Dzongpens

Number	Name
1	PunabPekar Rubgye
2	PunabTenzin Drukda
3	PunabDruk Pelzang
4	PunabTenpa Wangchuck
5	PunabDalub Tobgye
6	PunabDang Tashi
7	PunabDamchho Rinchhen
8	PunabNgodub
9	PunabPhuntsho Dorji
10	PunabThonglay
11	PunabWangchuck
12	PunabWangsha

Thimphu Dzongpens

Below are the Dzongpens ofThimphu,also called "Thimphub."

Simtokha Dzong,historical administrative center ofThimphu

Tashichho Dzong,administrative center ofThimphu

Thimphu Dzongpens

Number	Name
1	ThimphubAwu Tshering
2	ThimphubNorbu
3	ThimphubNgwang Gyeltshen
4	ThimphubTashi Dorji
5	ThimphubDruk Rubgye
6	ThimphubSonam Drugyel
7	ThimphubDondub
8	ThimphubDruk Phuntsho
9	ThimphubDruk Tenzin
10	ThimphubChhoki Gyeltshen (Tshewang Rinchhen)
11	ThimphubUma Dewa (Sherub Tharchhin)
12	ThimphubKasha
13	ThimphubKarma Drugyel
14	ThimphubKhasab Tobgye
15	ThimphubKawang Manghkhel
16	ThimphubLama Thewang
17	ThimphubAlu Dorji
18	ThimphubKunzang Thinley
19	ThimphubPema
20	ThimphubKunzang Thinley
Notes:

Wangdue Dzongpens

Wangdue PhodrangDzong

Wangdue PhodrangDzong

Below are the Dzongpens ofWangdue Phodrang,also called "Wangzob."

Wangdue Dzongpens

Number	Name
1	WangzobChhoje Namkha Rinchhen
2	WangzobGedun Chhophel
3	WangzobNgwang Tshering
4	WangzobDruk Tenzin
5	WangzobSangye Tenzin
6	WangzobLepi Sherub
7	WangzobSonam Lhundup
8	WangzobSangay
9	WangzobKunga Gyeltshen
10	WangzobPhuntsho Namgyel
11	WangzobDalub Tobgye
12	WangzobSigay
13	WangzobTenzin Namgyel
14	WangzobKawang Sangay
15	WangzobAngdu
16	WangzobJigme Namgyel
17	WangzobThinley Tobgye
18	WangzobAshang Jampa
19	WangzobKodu
20	WangzobDomchu
Notes:

See also

• Penlop
• Penlop of Trongsa
• House of Wangchuck
• History of Bhutan