Office of the Foreign Secretary

Foreign Secretary (profile)

Pema Lektup Dorji joined the civil service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992. Since then, he has worked in various capacities at headquarters and served at the Royal Bhutanese Embassies in New Delhi, India (1994-1998), and Dhaka, Bangladesh (2004-2006).

Pema also served as Director (Bhutan) at the Secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Kathmandu, Nepal (2008-2012), as Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations, New York (2014-2017), and as Director General, Department of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs (2017 till 2023).

Most recently, Pema served as Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations, New York, from June 2024 till November 2025 with concurrent accreditation as non-resident Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bhutan to Brazil and Canada.

Pema was appointed as Foreign Secretary by His Majesty The King on 25 November 2025.

Pema completed his high school from St. Joseph’s School, North Point, Darjeeling and Sherubtse College, Kanglung, in 1988. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, in 1991. He has a master’s degree in political science from Delhi University and a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University.

Pema is widowed and has a son and a daughter.

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