Bhutan Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name: Kingdom of Bhutan

Type: monarchy; special treaty relationship with India

Capital- Thimphu; Paro (administrative capital)

Political subdivisions: 4 regions (east, central, west, south), further divided into 18 districts

Legal system: based on Indian law and English common law; in 1907 the monarch assumed full power—no written constitution or bill of rights; in 1968-69 a separate judiciary that provided for local district, and national courts with appellate jurisdiction was established; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: 17 December

Branchesappointed ministers; 150-member indirectly elected National Assembly consisting of 110 village elders or heads of family, 10 monastic representatives, and 30 senior government administrators

Government leader: Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK, King (since 1974)

Suffrage-each family has one vote

Elections, popular elections on village level held every three years

Political parties: no legal parties

Communists: no overt Communist presence

Other political or pressure groups: Buddhist clergy, Indian merchant community, ethnic Nepalese organizations

Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, IDA, IFW, IMF. NAM, SAARC, UNESCO, UPU, UN, WHO

NOTE: The information regarding Bhutan on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bhutan 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bhutan 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.