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Bhutan Executive
At the apex of the executive branch is the Druk Gyalpo,
who is
both head of state and head of the government. Responsible
to him
are two advisory and executive organizations: the Royal
Advisory
Council and the Council of Ministers. There also is the
Royal
Secretariat, which serves as an intermediary between the
Druk
Gyalpo and the Council of Ministers.
The Royal Advisory Council was mentioned in the 1953
constitution of the National Assembly (members of the
council are
concurrently members of the National Assembly), but it
took on
greater importance in 1965 when the Druk Gyalpo installed
representatives elected by the monastic bodies and the
National
Assembly. In 1989 the council's membership included a
representative of the government, two representatives of
the
monasteries, six regional representatives, and a
chairperson, all
for five-year terms. The chairperson and the government
representative are appointed by the Druk Gyalpo; the two
monks
represent the central and district monastic bodies. Monk
representatives, according to 1979 regulations for council
membership, are required to be literate and "highly
knowledgeable
about the Drukpa Kargyupa religion." Monk nominees are
subject to
the approval of the speaker of the National Assembly. The
regional
representatives are elected by the National Assembly from
a list
endorsed by village assemblies. Representing the
southeastern,
southwestern, western, eastern, central, and the
Thimphu-Paro-Ha
regions, they are required to be literate, knowledgeable
about
Bhutanese traditional culture and customs with "some
knowledge of
modern customs and etiquette," "well-behaved and able to
speak
well," "able to shoulder responsibility, and far-sighted."
As the
principal consulting body to the Druk Gyalpo, the Royal
Advisory
Council is a key state organization and interacts most
directly
with the National Assembly.
Chaired by the Druk Gyalpo, the Council of Ministers
was
established in 1968 with the approval of the National
Assembly. In
1991 it comprised seven ministers and the Druk Gyalpo's
representative in each ministry (agriculture;
communications;
finance; foreign affairs; home affairs; social services;
and trade,
industry, and tourism). The largest ministry by far was
the
Ministry of Social Services, which ran the nation's
education and
health systems and included nearly 26 percent of all civil
service
employees. Two of the ministers in 1990--the minister of
finance
(Ashi Sonam Chhoden Wangchuck) and the minister of home
affairs
(Dasho Namgyal Wangchuck)--were members of the royal
family.
Until the 1960s, the Royal Secretariat played a major
role in
government affairs. The key officials of the Royal
Secretariat were
the Druk Gyalpo's representative in the Royal Bhutan Army,
the
royal chief secretary, and the royal finance secretary.
After the
establishment of the Council of Ministers and subsequent
shift of
administrative and financial matters out of the palace,
however,
the Royal Secretariat's day-to-day role diminished in
importance.
Relations between the two bodies have been described as
cordial,
nevertheless, and ministers usually were selected from
among Royal
Secretariat personnel.
Data as of September 1991
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