Ugyen Dorji

Chief Minister of Bhutan

1855

1916 Bhutan House, Kalimpong, India

1907–1916

This article is about the Chief Minister of Bhutan. For other uses, see Ugyen Dorji (disambiguation). Kazi Ugyen seated on the right, when Ugyen Wangchuck received the grade of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire at Punakha Dzong, 1905. Ugyen Dorji (Dzongkha: ཨོ་རྒྱན་རྡོ་རྗེ་ , Wylie: o rgyan rdo rje, 1855–1916) was a member of the elite Dorji family and an influential Bhutanese politician. He served as the closest adviser to Ugyen Wangchuck, the hereditary 12th Penlop of Trongsa and later 1st Druk Gyalpo. Ugyen Dorji was instrumental in advising the Penlop to aid the British Empire in its expedition to Tibet in 1904 and fostering friendly relations with the British after the Bhutan War (1864–1865). Operating from Bhutan House in Kalimpong, India, Ugyen Dorji used his position to open Bhutan to the outside world, establish Bhutan's foreign relations, and operate a lucrative trading outlet.