Tshering Tobgay Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Dasho Tshering Tobgay
ཚེ་རིང་སྟོབས་རྒྱས།
Tshering Tobgay in 2024

7th Prime Minister of Bhutan
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 January 2024
Monarch	Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Preceded by	Chogyal Dago Rigdzin (as Chief Advisor)
In office 27 July 2013 – 9 August 2018
Monarch	Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Preceded by	Sonam Tobgye (as Chief Advisor)
Succeeded by	Tshering Wangchuk (as Chief Advisor) Lotay Tshering

Personal details
Born	(1965-09-19) 19 September 1965 (age 59) Kalimpong, India
Political party	People's Democratic Party (1991–present)
Spouse	Tashi Dolma (m. 1998)
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Pittsburgh (BS) Harvard University (MPA)

Tshering Tobgay (Dzongkha: ཚེ་རིང་སྟོབས་རྒྱས།; born 19 September 1965) is an important politician from Bhutan. He is the Prime Minister of Bhutan right now, a job he started on January 28, 2024. He also served as Prime Minister before, from July 2013 to August 2018.

Tobgay leads the People's Democratic Party. Before becoming Prime Minister, he was the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013. He is also known for caring about the environment and Bhutan's culture.

Early Life and Education
Personal Life
Career in Public Service
- Becoming a Political Leader
  - 2013 Election Promises
  - His Beliefs
Important Speeches
Awards and Honours
See also

Early Life and Education

Tshering Tobgay was born in Kalimpong, India. He grew up in a family with six brothers. His parents played a big part in helping Bhutan grow. His father was one of the first soldiers in the Royal Bhutan Army. His mother helped build the first road that connected Bhutan to India.

Tobgay went to secondary school at the Dr. Graham's Homes School in Kalimpong. This school is located in the eastern Himalayas.

In 1990, Tobgay earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He received a scholarship from the United Nations to study there. Later, in 2004, he got a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University.

Personal Life

Tshering Tobgay married Tashi Doma in 1998. They have two children together. He enjoys staying active and is a big fan of cycling. He also likes fitness, going to the gym, and practicing yoga.

Career in Public Service

Before becoming a politician, Tobgay worked for the government. He started his career in 1991 in the Education Division in Bhutan. He worked with technical and vocational education.

From 1999 to 2003, Tobgay helped create and lead the National Technical Training Authority. He was its Director. After that, he worked in the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources as the director of the Human Resources department until 2007.

In February 2007, Tobgay left his government job to enter politics. He wanted to help the country as it moved towards democracy.

Becoming a Political Leader

Tshering Tobgay was one of the people who started the People's Democratic Party. This party was the first political party officially registered in Bhutan.

In the 2008 election, his party won only two seats in the National Assembly. Tobgay won one of these seats. In 2009, the party's leader stepped down, and Tobgay became the new leader.

After the 2013 election, Tobgay's party won more seats. He was then chosen as the Prime Minister of Bhutan. In the 2024 general election, his party won again. This meant Tshering Tobgay became Prime Minister for a second time.

2013 Election Promises

During his 2013 election campaign, Tobgay focused on making practical improvements for Bhutan. He promised to give each village a power tiller (a small farming machine). He also pledged to provide utility vehicles for each district. His campaign also promised two national ambulance helicopters.

Tobgay's main goal was to improve the economy. He also wanted to make the rural economy stronger. Other promises included improving education and giving more power to local governments.

His Beliefs

Tobgay believes that Bhutan's idea of "Gross National Happiness" needs to be put into action. He thinks it's important to solve problems like youth unemployment, corruption, and national debt. He works to stop corruption in the government. He also likes to connect with the people of Bhutan.

Important Speeches

Tshering Tobgay has given many speeches around the world. In 2015, he spoke at an event in India. He invited businesses from all over the world to work with Bhutan.

He also gave a TED talk in 2015. He talked about happiness and how important it is to have a purpose and feel secure.

In 2016, Tobgay gave another TED talk in Vancouver. He spoke about Bhutan's promise to always be carbon neutral. This means Bhutan tries to balance the carbon it releases with the carbon it removes from the air. He shared how his country puts happiness before just making money. He also spoke at the UN general assembly in 2017 about Bhutan's environmental efforts.

In 2019, Tobgay spoke at TED again. He talked about how global warming affects the "Third Pole." This is the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. He explained that two-thirds of the glaciers there could melt by the end of the century. This would affect over 2 billion people.