Although mystery surrounds the distant past of Bhutan, the known history of Bhutan begins with the introduction of Buddhism in the country. It can be gleaned from available records that the people of Bhutan followed a kind of Shamanistic faith called "Bon" prior to the advent of Buddhism in the country.  Between the 8th and 17th Century AD, a number of renowned Buddhist masters from both India and Tibet visited Bhutan and left their marks in the forms of monasteries, temples, fortresses and social beliefs and values.

Buddhism provides a cohesion among the people of different regions in Bhutan during the middle ages but the country was unified under the central authority of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyle only during the 17th century.

Towards the end of the theocratic regime, on the 17th of December 1907, the regional Governors, the powerful Clergy, and the representatives of the people, weary of the hardship faced due to factional rivalries and unending strife, unanimously elected Ugyen Wangchuck, the Penlop of Trongsa, as the first hereditary King of Bhutan.

In the year 1953, the third King of Bhutan, His Majesty, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, initiated one of the most important constitutional reforms in Bhutanese history with the establishment of the National Assembly with 150 members.  In 1961, Bhutan opened its doors to the world as a member of the international community and launched its first Five Year Development Plan.

The present King, His Majesty, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, ascended the throne at the young age of 17 in 1972 and took the significant step of launching the process of decentralization which enabled the gradual devolution of decision making authority to the grass-roots level.

The year 1998 witnessed the culmination of that process when His Majesty delegated full executive powers to an elected Council of Ministers.  The National Assembly was also empowered by His Majesty to have a mechanism to move a vote of confidence in the King.