After five years in office, Gelephu Thrompon Tshering Norbu formally handed over the administration of Gelephu Thromde to the Governor’s Office of the Gelephu Mindfulness City today. But for the 43-year-old, the occasion marked more than the end of a tenure. It was the close of an era. With the establishment of the Gelephu Mindfulness City, Tshering Norbu becomes the last Thrompon to serve Gelephu Thromde.
Tshering Norbu took office in May 2021. Over the years, he led the thromde through some of its most difficult and defining moments, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the administration’s key achievements, he said, was tackling Gelephu’s long-standing flood problems caused by heavy rainfall, an issue residents had faced for years.
But beyond infrastructure and development works, many people remember him as the Thrompon who guided Gelephu through a historic transition, one that is now reshaping the future of Bhutan.
Today, he officially handed over responsibilities from the thromde administration to the Governor’s Office of the GMC.
“In one of the audiences granted by His Majesty the King, His Majesty personally told me that I would be the last Thrompon of Gelephu, assuring me that my tenure would not be affected by the coming of GMC. At that moment, I felt like a mountain of responsibilities had been placed on my shoulders by His Majesty,” said Tshering Norbu, Former Gelephu Thrompon.
Tshering Norbu surrendered his kabney and patang before the portrait of His Majesty The King.
Moments later, he changed into the ordinary white kabney of a civilian. A symbolic transition, from public office to public service in another form.
“This is not the end of my service. I have served as a Thrompon till now, but henceforth I shall serve as a responsible resident of Gelephu,” said Tshering Norbu, Former Gelephu Thrompon.
As Gelephu begins a new chapter under the Gelephu Mindfulness City, Tshering Norbu leaves behind not just an office, but a chapter of history closely tied to a town in transition.
Passang Dorji/Karma Wangdi, Gelephu
