Behold the world’s youngest ruler, whose primary challenge at 28 is to continue the democratic seeds planted by his father.

His grandfather opened Bhutan to the world; his father preserved its independence. Now, at 28, the man who last week took on the title of Fearless Lightning Lion has the task of making the tiny, landlocked Himalayan kingdom a fully democratic 21st century Asian state.

rince Jigme Khesar Wangchuck is the fifth of the Wangchuck dynasty to ascend to the throne in the fort-like castle, or dzong, that runs along the Thimphu river.

The 28-year-old scion of the Wangchuck dynasty, has been performing all the kingly functions since last year. The Bhutanese refer to him in conversations as ‘the Fifth King’.

With the first three kings not having survived to 50, he will probably feel a sense of urgency to fulfil his mission.

His father, King Jigme Singhye Wangchuck, was thrust to kingship at age 17, when the third king died of a heart attack.

Almost immediately, an assassination plot was uncovered, said to have been masterminded by the third king’s Tibetan mistress.

Young, friendless and under threat, King Jigme Singhye was known for a reckless streak, tearing around the mountains in his high-powered motorbike, going rock climbing and spending days in a log cabin up near the peaks.

Besides, India, Bhutan’s most important neighbour, was an uncertain factor. King Jigme Singhye grew up calling Indira Gandhi ‘auntie’—so close were ties with India’s ruling family—but even so, insecurities rose after India annexed the Himalayan state of Sikkim in 1975. “We had close ties with the Chogyal and we were slightly related too,” he once told this writer. “At the time, we felt bad for the Chogyal.”

The new king is luckier, having grown up in more secure environs. King Jigme Singhye—at 53, still fit enough to play basketball with the troops—is always available to give a senior’s counsel.

Ties with India are close to the point of being tight. Last year, New Delhi freed Thimphu from treaty obligations to consult India on foreign policy. Much of it is thanks to the old king’s common sense approach to foreign policy.

Unlike Nepal, which has been reluctant to share its vast hydro-electric resources with energy-short India, Bhutan has been far more forthcoming.

The result has been a windfall that has given the landlocked state the highest per capita income in South Asia, thanks to the sale of power to India.

At US$1,840 last year, Bhutan’s per capita income is double that of giant neighbour India and four times that of Nepal, whose hereditary monarchy was abolished this year.

In taking his tiny state into the 21st century and managing the demands of the democratic politics introduced by his father, King Jigme Khesar’s education will no doubt also be a boon.

His father was educated at North Point School in Darjeeling, India, and for two years at Heatherdown Preparatory School in England. At age 13, he was brought back to be raised in Bhutanese traditions and taught Dzongkha, the local language.

The new king, while steeped in Bhutan’s culture, is very much a modern man. In his early years, King Jigme Khesar was bunched with Bhutanese children, learning Dzongkha, Buddhism and local dances. Later, he was sent to Phillips Academy in Andover, in the United States, Wheaton College in Massachusetts and eventually, Oxford University’s Magdalen College. He did a stint at New Delhi’s National Defence College, connecting with India’s elite, and seeking out dignitaries visiting New Delhi.

People say the new man is very much the father’s son, inheriting some of his austere aloofness. “Even at 20, when you went before him, you got the feeling of being in the presence of someone much older,” says a senior government official. “There is so much of the father in him.” (By RAVI VELLOOR In Thimphu/ The Statesman/ AsiaNews)