- Sangay Ngedup
Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup (born 1953 in
Nobgang ) was Prime Minister ofBhutan from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2006.In
Dzongkha , the title "Lyonpo" means "Minister".Sangay Ngedup was born in Nobgang village in
Punakha . He is the second eldest son in a family of two brothers and five sisters. Four of his sisters are the Queens of Bhutan. He graduated from Dr Graham's Homes inKalimpong ,India , and completed his tertiary education at the St Stephen’s College inNew Delhi ,India . 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
Bhutan to theUnited Nations inNew York and later as second (and later first) secretary in the Royal Bhutan Embassy inNew Delhi . In 1989, Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup was appointed as Ambassador toKuwait .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 untilJuly 20 ,2000 . He was Minister of Agriculture from 2003 to 2007, and onSeptember 5 ,2005 was appointed as Prime Minister again, serving untilSeptember 7 ,2006 . In July 2007 he resigned from the government, together with Prime Minister LyonpoKhandu Wangchuk and five other ministers, to enter politics and prepare for the country's first ever democratic election in 2008. [http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=0fc17dd6-a4cd-4ccc-9dd4-e0fc571d7c02&&Headline=Caretaker+PM+appointed+in+Bhutan "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 (GNH), a philosophy (coined by the fourth kingJigme Singye Wangchuck ) 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 ownconstituency ; the People's Democratic Party took only three seats of a possible 47 in the National Assembly. [ [http://www.france24.com/en/20080324-bhutan-votes-status-quo-jigmi-thinley-election-parliament&navi=MONDE "Bhutan votes for status quo"] ,France 24 , March 24, 2008]Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup was awarded the Red Scarf by His Majesty the King on
August 24 ,1987 , and the Orange Scarf onJanuary 1 ,1998 .In 2002 he undertook with six other members the [http://www.move4health.gov.bt Move for Health Walk] from
Trashigang to the capital city ofThimphu 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 the [http://www.whobhutan.org/EN/Section4_32.htm Bhutan Health Trust Fund] , an important initiative to keep the primary health services ofBhutan free of charge.Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup is the Honorary President of the
Bhutan Scouts Association .References
External links
* [http://www.pdp.bt/presidents-corner/profile/ Sangay Ngedup's Profile]
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