Sonam Topgay Dorji

Sonam Topgay Dorji
སྲོང་འགྲེ་སྟོབས་རྒྱས་རྡོ་རྗེ།
2nd Prime Minister of Bhutan (Chief Minister)
In office
1917–1952
MonarchsUgyen Wangchuck
Jigme Wangchuck
Preceded byUgyen Dorji
Succeeded byJigme Palden Dorji
Personal details
Born1896
Bhutan
Died1953
Kalimpong, India
OccupationPolitician, Administrator

Sir Raja Sonam Topgay Dorji CIE (Dzongkha: བསོད་ནམས་སྟོབས་རྒྱས་རྡོ་རྗེ་; Wylie: bsod-nams stobs-rgyas rdo-rje; 1896–1953), also called Tobgay, was a member of the Dorji family and Bhutanese politician who served between 1917 and 1952 in the Royal Government under the First and Second Kings of Bhutan. During this period, Topgay Dorji officially held the posts of Gongzim (Chief Minister), Deb Zimpon (Chief Secretary), and Trade Agent to the Government of Bhutan. As such, Topgay Dorji was responsible for fostering Anglo-Bhutanese relations, and later, Bhutan–India relations. Topgay's ties with the west and modernist political factions contributed significantly to the modern political landscape and modernization of Bhutan.

Topgay Dorji inherited his positions from his father, Kazi Ugyen Dorji, who was instrumental in advising Ugyen Wangchuck before and after he became the First King of Bhutan. Topgay Dorji lived, worked, and died at Bhutan House, the Dorji's estate in Kalimpong, India, the traditional administrative center of southern Bhutan.