Ngawang Namgyal

Ngawang Namgyal (b. 1594; d. 1651), also known by the title Zhabdrung (‘at whose feet one submits’), was a high-ranking Tibetan Buddhist lama of the Drukpa Kagyu school and the founder of Bhutan as a nation-state. Namgyal was born at Ralung Monastery in Tibet and succeeded his father as abbott at the age of thirteen. Conflict with the Tibetan ruler led him to flee to Bhutan in 1616, where he garnered immense popularity preaching the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. He unified the warring factions of the region and eventually declared himself king, presiding over a dual system of government comprising a religious and an administrative wing. He formulated and implemented a code of public etiquette, the Driglam Namzha, which is followed in Bhutan to this day. His death was concealed from the public for a number of years to stall succession bids and disputes.