Pema Gyamtsho Explained

Native Name:པདྨ་རྒྱ་མཚོ།
Native Name Lang:dz
Party:Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party
Birth Date:15 November 1961[1]
Office:Leader of the Opposition
Term Start:7 November 2018
Term End:September 2020[2]
Predecessor:himself
Successor:Dorji Wangdi
Term Start1:13 July 2013
Term End1:1 August 2018
Predecessor1:Tshering Tobgay
Office2:Member of the National Assembly of Bhutan
Term Start2:31 October 2018
Term End2:2020
Constituency2:Chhoekhor-Tang
Successor2:Dawa[3]
Term Start3:2013
Term End3:2018
Constituency3:Chhoekhor-Tang
Term Start4:2008
Term End4:2013
Constituency4:Chhoekhor-Tang
Office5:President of Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party
Term Start5:3 December 2013
Term End5:September 2020
Predecessor5:Jigme Thinley
Successor5:Dorji Wangdi

Pema Gyamtsho (Dzongkha: པདྨ་རྒྱ་མཚོ།, Wylie: pad+ma rgya mtsho, born in 1961) is a Bhutanese politician who served as the Second Party President of the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly of Bhutan from 2013 until his resignation to become the Director General of ICIMOD in 2020.[4] He also served as the Minister of Agriculture and Forests in the first elected government of Bhutan.

Career

In 1990, he took M.Agr.Sc (Hons) from New Zealand,[5] with a thesis on lucerne grass, and in 1996 he took Ph.D. from ETH Zurich. He was a member of the Planning Commission, Sustainable Development Secretariat, Centre for Bhutan Studies, Forestry Development Corporation Board and Founding Co-Chairman of Bhutan Water Partnership. Later he was promoted to the Deputy Secretary of Policy Planning Division, Ministry of Agriculture. He has also worked with ICIMOD based in Kathmandu, Nepal as a specialist in watershed. Ultimately he became the Deputy Resident Coordinator of Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation.[6]

In 2007, he became a member of DPT, and his name was registered in the constituency of Bumthang District for the General Election (the election of National Assembly). In March 2008, he won a clear victory in his constituency,[7] and in April same year he was appointed the First Minister of Agriculture and Forest in the Democratic Government of Bhutan. In 2013, he ran for re-election in the General Election. While DPT was beaten by People's Democratic Party (PDP) in this election, he was elected the Member for the second term.[8]

In July 2013, Jigme Thinley who had been the former Prime Minister and the Party President of DPT submitted the resignation for the Member of National Assembly before beginning its Legislative Session. So on 24 July same year Pema Gyamtsho was appointed the Opposition Leader in NA for the Second Legislative Session.[9] On 3 December same year he was also elected as the new DPT's Party President.[10]

Honours

Footnotes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bumthang . Ipa Journal . 2 January 2019.
  2. Web site: Subba . MB . Opposition Party embraces new leadership . Kuensel.
  3. Web site: DNT’s Dawa secures more than 62 percent of the total votes cast, Chhoekhor Tang bye-election . BBS.
  4. Web site: Newspaper. Bhutan's Daily. OL formally tenders resignation. 5 July 2021. Kuensel Online.
  5. Gyamtsho . Pema . 1990 . Masters thesis . Performance of lucerne/grass mixtures under different grazing durations and soil depths in a dryland environment . Research@Lincoln, Lincoln University . 10182/2116 .
  6. Gyambo Sithey and Dr. Tandin Dorji (2009), p.240.
  7. Gyambo Sithey and Dr. Tandin Dorji (2009), p.241.
  8. http://www.election-bhutan.org.bt/NAGResult2013/ National Parliamentary Election 2013: General Elections
  9. http://www.bbs.bt/news/?p=29722 Dr. Pema Gyamtsho to head the Opposition
  10. http://www.bbs.bt/news/?p=34442 OL, the new DPT president
  11. Web site: His Majesty confers Dakyen to PM, appoints ministers and grants Orange Kabney to Speaker, OL. 7 November 2018.