[1][2] Thinley was born in Bumthang and joined the civil service in 1976[3] upon receiving a graduate degree from The Pennsylvania State University.

[5] In February 1987, Thinley was awarded the title of Dasho and the Red Scarf, and in 1990, under the zonal system, he became administrator of the Eastern Zone.

In March 2008, he stood as leader of the political party Druk Phuensum Tshogpa in Bhutan's first democratic election.

[1][2] Thinley blamed the global economic crisis of 2008–2009 on "insatiable human greed" and stressed the need to instead focus on the Bhutanese notion of gross national happiness.

[6] In July 2009, Thinley became a member of the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation's International Advisory Board.