Sangay Ngedup was born in
Nobgang village in
Punakha. He is the second child and eldest son in a family of three brothers and six sisters. Four of his sisters are married to the former King of Bhutan,
Jigme Singye Wangchuck. His father,
Yab Dasho Ugyen Dorji (1925–2019), was the founder and proprietor of
Ugyen Academy (UA) (03/04/2002). His mother is
Yum Thuiji Zam (b. 1932).
Yum Thuiji Zam Charity School in
Thimphu District is named after her. His two brothers are:
Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup, whose demonstrated leadership style is democratic, was unanimously elected as president and leader of the newly constituted
People's Democratic Party. In his presidential debate, the first ever held in February 2008,
Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup promised that, if he won the election, he would base his policies of governing on
Gross National Happiness (GNH), a philosophy (coined by the fourth king
Jigme Singye Wangchuck, his brother-in-law) that states that happiness is more important than material growth for the people. He led his party during the election, held on March 24, 2008, but lost in his own
constituency; the People's Democratic Party took only two seats of a possible 47 in the
National Assembly.
Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup was awarded the
Red Scarf by
His Majesty the King on August 24, 1987, and the
Orange Scarf on January 1, 1998. In 2002 he undertook with six other members the Move for Health Walk from
Trashigang to the capital city of
Thimphu covering on foot a distance of 560 km concluded successfully as scheduled. The Walk was conceived by
Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup to promote the fund-raising for the Bhutan Health Trust Fund , an important initiative to keep the primary health services of
Bhutan free of charge. On 8 September 2015, he received the
World Health Organization’s excellence in public health award.
Lyonpo Sangay Ngedup is the Honorary President of the
Bhutan Scouts Association. ==Ancestry==