Penlop (Dzongkha: དཔོན་སློབ་;Wylie:dpon-slob; also spelled Ponlop, Pönlop) is aDzongkha term roughly translated as provincial governor.Bhutanese penlops, prior to unification, controlled certain districts of the country, but now hold no administrative office. Rather, penlops are now entirely subservient to theHouse of Wangchuck.

Traditionally, Bhutan comprised nine provinces:Trongsa,Paro,Punakha,Wangdue Phodrang,Daga (also Taka, Tarka, or Taga),Bumthang,Thimphu,Kurtoed (also Kurtoi, Kuru-tod), andKurmaed (or Kurme, Kuru-mad). The Provinces of Kurtoed and Kurmaed were combined into one local administration, leaving the traditional number of governors at eight. While some lords were penlops, others held the titleDzongpen (Dzongkha: རྗོང་དཔོན་;Wylie:rjong-dpon; also "Jongpen," "Dzongpön"), a title also translated as "governor."^[1] Other historical titles, such as "Governor of Haa," were also awarded.^{[citation needed]}

Under thedual system of government, penlops anddzongpens were theoretically masters of their own realms but servants of theDruk Desi. In practice, however, they were under minimal central government control, and thePenlop of Trongsa and Penlop of Paro dominated the rest of the local lords.^[2] And while all governor posts were officially appointed byShabdrungNgawang Namgyal, later theDruk Desi, some offices such as thePenlop of Trongsa werede facto hereditary and appointed within certain families. Penlops and dzongpens often held other government offices such asDruk Desi,Je Khenpo, governor of other provinces, or a second or third term in the same office.^[3]

Theheir apparent andKing of Bhutan still hold the titlePenlop of Trongsa for a period, as this was the original position held by theHouse of Wangchuck before it obtained the throne.

Under Bhutan's early theocraticdual system of government, decreasingly effective central government control resulted in thede facto disintegration of the office ofShabdrung after the death of ShabdrungNgawang Namgyal in 1651. Under this system, the Shabdrung reigned over the temporalDruk Desi and religiousJe Khenpo. Two successor Shabdrungs – the son (1651) and stepbrother (1680) of Ngawang Namgyal – were effectively controlled by the Druk Desi and Je Khenpo until power was further splintered through the innovation of multiple Shabdrung incarnations, reflecting speech, mind, and body. Increasingly secular regional lords (penlops anddzongpens) competed for power amid a backdrop of civil war over the Shabdrung and invasions fromTibet, and theMongol Empire.^[4] The penlops ofTrongsa andParo, and the dzongpons ofPunakha,Thimphu, andWangdue Phodrang were particularly notable figures in the competition for regional dominance.^[4][5]

Within this political landscape, theWangchuck family originated in theBumthang region of central Bhutan.^[6] The family belongs to the Nyö clan, and is descended fromPema Lingpa, a BhutaneseNyingmapa saint. The Nyö clan emerged as a local aristocracy, supplanting many older aristocratic families of Tibetan origin that sided with Tibet during invasions of Bhutan. In doing so, the clan came to occupy the hereditary position ofPenlop of Trongsa, as well as significant national and local government positions.^[7]

ThePenlop of Trongsa controlled central and eastern Bhutan; the rival Penlop of Paro controlled western Bhutan; anddzongpons controlled areas surrounding their respectivedzongs. Eastern dzongpens were generally under the control of the Penlop of Trongsa, who was officially endowed with the power to appoint them in 1853.^{[3]: 106, 251} The Penlop of Paro, unlike Trongsa, was an office appointed by theDruk Desi's central government. Because western regions controlled by the Penlop of Paro contained lucrative trade routes, it became the object of competition among aristocratic families.^[7]

Although Bhutan generally enjoyed favorable relations with both Tibet andBritish India through the 19th century, extension of British power at Bhutan's borders as well as Tibetan incursions in BritishSikkim defined politically opposed pro-Tibet and pro-Britain forces.^[8] This period of intense rivalry between and within western and central Bhutan, coupled with external forces from Tibet and especially theBritish Empire, provided the conditions for the ascendancy of the Penlop of Trongsa.^[7]

After theDuar War with Britain (1864–65) as well as substantial territorial losses (Cooch Behar 1835;AssamDuars 1841), armed conflict turned inward. In 1870, amid the continuing civil wars, PenlopJigme Namgyal of Trongsa ascended to the office ofDruk Desi. In 1879, he appointed his 17-year-old sonUgyen Wangchuck as Penlop of Paro. Jigme Namgyal reigned through his death 1881, punctuated by periods of retirement during which he retained effective control of the country.^[9]

The pro-Britain Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck ultimately prevailed against the pro-Tibet and anti-Britain Penlop of Paro after a series of civil wars and rebellions between 1882 and 1885. After his father's death in 1881, Ugyen Wangchuck entered a feud over the post of Penlop of Trongsa. In 1882, at the age of 20, he marched on Bumthang and Trongsa, winning the post of Penlop of Trongsa in addition to Paro. In 1885, Ugyen Wangchuck intervened in a conflict between the Dzongpens of Punakha and Thimphu, sacking both sides and seizingSimtokha Dzong. From this time forward, the office of Desi became purely ceremonial.^[9]

Trongsa PenlopUgyen Wangchuck, firmly in power and advised byKaziUgyen Dorji, accompanied theBritish expedition to Tibet as an invaluable intermediary, earning his first British knighthood. Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck further garnered knighthood in theKCIE in 1904. Meanwhile, the last officially recognized Shabdrung and Druk Desi had died in 1903 and 1904, respectively. As a result, a power vacuum formed within the already dysfunctionaldual system of government. Civil administration had fallen to the hands of Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck, and in November 1907 he was unanimously elected hereditary monarch by an assembly of the leading members of the clergy, officials, and aristocratic families. His ascendency to the throne ended the traditionaldual system of government in place for nearly 300 years. It also marked the end of the traditional position of independent penlops.^[8][10] The titlePenlop of Trongsa – or Penlop of Chötse, another name for Trongsa – continued to be held by crown princes.^[11]

Penlops of Trongsa, also called "Tongsab" (Dzongkha: ཀྲོང་སརབ་;Wylie:krong-sarb), are based inTrongsa, modern dayTrongsa District in central Bhutan. In the 19th century, thePenlop of Trongsa emerged as one of the two most powerful offices in the realm, having marginalized all others but the Penlop of Paro. By the ascension ofJigme Namgyel (also calledDeb Nagpo, "the BlackDeb")^[12]: 132 in 1853, the office was virtually hereditary, held firmly by theHouse of Wangchuck of the Nyö clan. Many members of the family occupied other government offices before, during, or after the position of Trongsa Penlop.

The Penlops of Paro were also known as "Parob" (Dzongkha: སྤ་རོབ་;Wylie:spa-rob). As the office flourished, so did competition with the pro-BritishPenlop of Trongsa. Ultimately, the independence of the Penlop of Paro ended in merger with theHouse of Wangchuck.

The Penlop of Daga, or "Dagab" (Dzongkha: དར་དཀརབ་;Wylie:dar-dkarb), was based inDaga, a town in modernDagana District.

• Dzongpen
• Penlop of Trongsa
• House of Wangchuck
• History of Bhutan

• Bhutanese monarchy

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