Jigme Singye Wangchuck
The Fourth Dragon King of Bhutan
18 x 24 inches • oil on wood panel • artist Steve Simon
Biography
About the Painting
Selected Quote
Overview
Jigme Singye Wangchuck was born on November 11, 1955 in Bhutan’s capital palace. In 1972, at the age of sixteen, he became Bhutan’s Fourth Dragon King upon his father’s death. As king, Wangchuck focused on socio-economic development while preserving Bhutan’s culture. He adopted a system of “Gross National Happiness” (GNH) that measures and addresses people’s well-being instead of emphasizing the internationally accepted norm of growing the Gross National Product. In 2011, the United Nations adopted a resolution stressing the “importance of the pursuit of happiness and well-being” in establishing public policies. Many nations now integrate their own versions of GNH in improving their own populations’ happiness.
An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Jigme Singye Wangchuck Biography
Jigme Singye Wangchuck is certainly not a household name and admittedly a dark horse entry in a collection of history’s great peacemakers. Some might even argue the role he played in expelling non-native speakers from his country should disqualify him as a great peacemaker. He has, nonetheless, been included in this collection on the merits of a particular conviction he held that may well influence the world in a deeply profound and positive way.
Wangchuck was born into royalty on November 11, 1955 at Dechencholing Palace in Thimphu, Bhutan. He had four sisters, but he was the only son born to King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, and Queen Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck, thus making him the Crown Prince.
As a child, the young Crown Prince was educated at the Dechencholing Palace. He went on to study in India and England before returning to Bhutan to complete his education. Perhaps his most relevant education came from spending substantial time with his father who taught him the leadership skills he would need as the future king.
In 1961, Bhutan established a system of economic development driven by Five Year Plans, which are produced by a Planning Commission. When the Crown Prince was still a teenager, he was appointed as the Chairman of the important Planning Commission. The following year, the king died suddenly. At the young age of 17, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ascended the throne, becoming the youngest monarch in the world.
At the young age of 17, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ascended the throne, becoming the youngest monarch in the world.
As a young sovereign, Wangchuck continued the development efforts begun by his father. He focused on infrastructure, education, and health while also emphasizing the preservation of Bhutan’s rich cultural heritage and natural environment. The results were impressive. During his reign, the number of roads in Bhutan more than tripled, twelve times as many children attended school, and twelve times as many healthcare facilities were available. Bhutan’s Gross National Product also increased by more than 15-fold.
Wangchuck understood, however, that such rapid development could also lead to undesirable consequences. Early in his reign, the young but wise leader had openly declared, “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.” Under Wangchuck’s guidance, Bhutan would, thus, follow a developmental policy driven by Gross National Happiness (GNH). This system is not merely a feel-good policy to help people smile more. GNH is a concrete system of four pillars and nine domains that account for the overall well-being of the population and environment. The domains, which include psychological well-being, health, time use, education, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards are measured and used as metrics to drive policy.
Wangchuck was also responsible for beginning Bhutan’s process of democratization. In 2001, he authorized a committee to draft a democratic constitution. Wangchuck then sought opinions on the draft from other voices around the country. Many balked at the very idea, but the constitution was drafted in 2005 and adopted in 2008. It did away with the absolute monarchy and established Bhutan as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government, not unlike that of Great Britain. One aspect of the constitution requires the king to abdicate by age of 65. Wangchuck chose instead to abdicate voluntarily at the age of 51 despite being at the peak of his popularity.
Wangchuck’s legacy is still playing out on the world stage. In 2011, The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution named “Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development” urging member countries to measure their populations’ happiness and to use the data to help guide public policy. In the following year, the United Nations released its first World Happiness Report. It has been published every year since with the exception of 2104. It currently ranks over 156 countries in six areas of well-being, or Gross National Happiness.
Though Bhutan remains the only nation to officially adopt GNH, many state and local governments around the world have begun experimenting with the concept and virtually all countries have begun some kind of monitoring of factors of well-being beyond the annual monetary value of goods produced and services provided.
Commemorative coronation stamp, Bhutanese currency, and coronation medal featuring Jigme Singye Wangchuck
About the Painting
The nation of Bhutan has a complex history woven with colorful myths and folklore. In the Bhutanese language, Bhutan is known as Druk Yul, meaning “The Land of the Thunder Dragon.” It is a reference dating back to the 12th Century. A lama in Tibet named a monastery Druk after nine thunder dragons he heard in the sky. Many lamas from this lineage later left Tibet to escape religious persecution. They settled in the area now known as Bhutan. Thus, the hereditary kings of Bhutan are traditionally given the title Druk Gyalpo or Dragon King.
The First Dragon King came to power in 1907 amidst the historical backdrop of complex domestic strife and foreign threats. For protection, he chose a crown adorned with the head of a raven. The raven represents the Mahakala, Bhutan’s guardian deity.
Jigme Singye Wangchuck became the Fourth Dragon King in 1972. His birthplace and birth year are believed to have been prophesied centuries ago by Guru Rinpoche. Credited with introducing Buddhism to Bhutan, Guru Rinpoche is said to have had supernatural powers. He could manifest in different forms and traveled throughout modern-day Bhutan, Tibet, and Nepal, meditating in caves. Preferring not to dispense his wisdom to those not ready, he concealed his teachings in terma or hidden treasures. These terma were to be discovered by enlightened treasure discoverers known as tertons.
Paro Taktsang Monastery, known colloquially as the Tiger’s Nest, was built in 1692 around a complex of caves in Bhutan’s Paro Valley. Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated in the caves for three years, three months, three weeks, and three hours back in the 8th Century.
The painting depicts Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth Dragon King, before the famous Tiger’s Nest. Though Wangchuck is not officially considered an enlightened treasure discoverer, his vision of Gross National Happiness as a means of sound governance may one day qualify as enlightened wisdom worthy of the great Guru Rinpoche’s approval.
Selected Jigme Singye Wangchuck Quote
“Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product.”
—Jigme Singye Wangchuck