Sheptoon La-Pha

Sheptoon La-Pha was an influential lama from Tibet who, approximately four to five centuries ago, became the king of Bhutan and was known as the dharma raja. This period likely marked Bhutan's emergence as a distinct political entity. La-Pha was succeeded by Doopgein Sheptoon, who organized Bhutan's administration by appointing regional governors (penlops) and fort governors (jungpens). Initially, the ruler held both temporal and spiritual authority, but this later divided into two roles: the dharma raja for spiritual matters and the deb raja for temporal affairs. This dual leadership continued until the early 20th century when the last dharma raja died, and no successor was found. In 1907, Ugyen Wangchuk became the hereditary king (druk gyalpo). Bhutan transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy in 2008.123