Successive Kalons

Mr. Penpa Tsering

Penpa Tsering was born in 1967 at Bylakuppee, India, and is a Do-mey TPiE member. He studied at the Central School for Tibetans, Bylakuppe, and topped the merit list in Class XII. He graduated with an Economics Major from Madras Christian College, Chennai. His work experience includes running a private export enterprise and a restaurant. During his student days, he served as the General Secretary of both the Tibetan Freedom Movement and the Nigerian Tibet Friendship Association.

Penpa Tsering later served as the General Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of Do-mey. He worked as the Executive Director at the Tibetan Parliamentary and Research Centre (TPPRC) in New Delhi from 2001-2008 before being sworn in as the speaker of the 14th parliament in 2008. He was elected to the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and was elected as the Speaker of the fourteenth Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in 2006. He got re-elected to the fifteenth Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile again with the Speaker’s post in 2011. He served as the Consul of Tibetan Administration in North America for a year and three months from 2016. He was elected as the Sikyong in the general election and was installed as the Sikyong on May 27, 2021, assuming additional responsibilities for several departments including Religious and Culture, Home, Finance, and Health.

Mr Khorlatsang Sonam Topgyal

He was born in the year 1954. After completing his studies, he joined the Central Tibetan Administration in 1979. Since then, he has worked in various capacities within the Tibetan administration. In 2001, he was promoted to the post of Secretary and appointed as the Director of Tibetan Reception Centre. His service continued as he took on roles such as Secretary of Finance department, Secretary of Tibetan Homes foundation in Mussoorie, and Secretary of the Department of Home from 2011 until May 2016. At that time, he was nominated as Kalon of the 15th Kashag by Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay. He then served as the Kalon of the Department of Home from June 1, 2016, until the end of his tenure on May 26, 2021.

Mrs. Dolma Gyari

Dolma Gyari was born in Kalimpong, India, in 1964 and now resides in Dharamsala, India. She studied at the Central School for Tibetans, Darjeeling, and graduated class X in 1981. Mrs. Gyari has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh. After graduation, she studied for three years at the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. Her political activism started young; she was actively involved in the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) of Darjeeling during her school years. When she joined Punjab University, Mrs. Gyari volunteered to run and was elected for the post of Joint Secretary of RTYC during her first year in college. She did not limit herself to fight only for Tibet’s cause; she was also involved in the GLOBAL 86 youth anti-apartheid movement in Chandigarh.

Dolma Gyari served on TYC’s Central Executive Committee as Information Secretary from 1986-1989 and as Joint Secretary from 1989-1991. She resigned before the expiration of her second term at TYC after she was elected to the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies. She has been serving in the Tibetan Parliament for the past 16 years as one of ten female members out of the 43 parliamentarians. She served as an interim co-chair of the International Movement of Parliamentarians for Democracy. She was elected to the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth ATPD and was the Vice-Chair Person of the Assembly. During these sessions, Dolma Gyari was elected Deputy Speaker, the first woman ever to serve in this position. She ran for the 3rd Kalon Tripa preliminary Election in 2010 but later withdrew from the final election. In 2011, she was nominated and became Minister (Kalon) of the Department of Home, Central Tibetan Administration. She ran for the Sikyong Election in 2021. She was nominated by the 16th Kashag and is presently serving as the Minister (Kalon) of the Department of Security.

Dr. Lobsang Sangay

Dr. Lobsang Sangay grew up in a Tibetan settlement and attended Central School for Tibetans in Darjeeling. He earned a B.A. (Honors) and LLB from Delhi University and was elected as the youngest executive member of the Tibetan Youth Congress in 1992. As a Fulbright Scholar, he obtained a Master’s Degree and a Doctorate in Law from Harvard Law School, becoming the first Tibetan to do so. He is an expert on International Law, Democratic Constitutionalism, and Conflict Resolution and has organized major conferences among scholars.

In 2011, Sangay was elected as the 3rd Kalon Tripa of the Central Tibetan Administration. During his swearing-in ceremony, the Dalai Lama transferred political leadership to him, fulfilling a long-cherished goal. In 2012, the Tibetan Parliament approved changing the title of Kalon Tripa to Sikyong. Sangay has continued to contribute to the Tibetan government and its people through his academic and political work.

Mr. Kasur Lobsang Nyima

Kasur Lobsang Nyima was born in 1939 in Lho Dokhar, Tibet, and studied at the Central University of Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, Varanasi. He served the Tibetan Government in Exile in various capacities since 1972, including Welfare Officer in Dalhousie, Settlement Officer in Orissa, and Manager of the Tibetan Handicrafts Centre in Nepal. He was Secretary of the Tibetan Public Service Commission in Dharamsala before being elected as Kalon for the Department of Home and Department of Religion and Culture in the 12th Kashag.

Nyima has a vast experience working among Tibetan communities in India and Nepal. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada, and continues to contribute to the Tibetan cause. His service record is exemplary, reflecting his dedication to the Tibetan government and its people.

Prof. Samdhong Lobsang Tenzin

Prof. Samdhong Lobsang Tenzin, the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche, was born in 1939 in Jol, Eastern Tibet. Recognized as the reincarnation of the 4th Samdhong Rinpoche, he was enthroned at Gaden Dechenling Monastery. He completed his religious training at Drepung Monastery in Lhasa and fled to exile in 1959. He received the Bhiksu ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1960 and served as a religious teacher in Tibetan schools. He became the Principal of Dalhousie Tibetan School and later received his Lharampa and Ngagrimpa Degrees.

Rinpoche served as Principal and Director of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies from 1971 to 2001. He was a member of the Drafting Committee for the Constitution of the Future Polity of Tibet and the exiled Tibetans. In 2001, he became the first democratically elected Kalon Tripa, serving until 2006. He was re-elected for a second term and transferred his political leadership to Dr. Lobsang Sangay in 2011.

Mr. Tempa Tsering

Tempa Tsering was born in 1950 in Drumpa, Gyaltse, Tibet, and fled to India in 1959. He completed high school at Dr. Grahams Homes in Kalimpong and earned a B.Sc. in Zoology from Madras Christian College. He was the first Tibetan to graduate from this college and held various positions within the Central Tibetan Administration, including interpreter, office secretary, and deputy secretary. He served as the secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations and as chief coordinator at the Chief Representative’s Office in Karnataka.

Elected as a minister in 2000, Tsering held the portfolio for the Department of Home until 2001. He was nominated as Kalon for the Department of Information and International Relations in 2006 and served as the representative of the Dalai Lama in New Delhi until 2016. He is currently the director for India and East Asia at the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and serves on the Board of Directors of the International Campaign for Tibet. He married Jetsun Pema, the younger sister of the Dalai Lama.

Mr. Sonam Topgyal

Mr. Sonam Topgyal was born in Kham Dagyab in 1941 and fled to India in 1959. He studied at the Central University for Tibetan Studies in Sarnath and Benares Hindu University before joining the Central Tibetan Administration in 1963. He held various positions, including deputy secretary of the Department of Information and secretary of the cabinet secretariat. In 1993, he delivered a letter from the Dalai Lama to Chinese leaders. He served as Kalon for the Department of Home and Health and was Kalon Tripa from 1995 to 1996.

Topgyal was a founding member of the Tibetan Youth Congress and worked at the Tibetan Cultural Preservation Centre at Norbu Lingka Institute. He served in the 10th and 11th Kashag, holding positions such as Kalon for Home, Security, Religion, and Culture. He passed away in 2013, survived by his wife and three daughters. His funeral was held in Dharamsala.

Mrs. Rinchen Khando Choegyal

Rinchen Khando Choegyal was born in Kandze, eastern Tibet, and escaped to India in 1959. She earned a B.A. from Loreto College in Darjeeling and is married to Tenzin Choegyal, younger brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. As a founding member and President of the Tibetan Women’s Association, she established the Tibetan Nuns Project, facilitating education and building nunneries for nuns escaping Tibet. Recognized for her service with the Women of Courage Award in 1997, she travels extensively to educate the international community about Tibetan refugees and the preservation of Tibetan culture.

Choegyal served as the Minister of Education in the Central Tibetan Administration, overseeing education for Tibetan children in exile. She is currently the Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project, continuing her efforts to support and educate Tibetan nuns. Her work has been instrumental in preserving Tibetan culture and advocating for the rights and education of Tibetan women.

Mr. Tenzin Namgyal Tethong

Tenzin Namgyal Tethong is a Distinguished Fellow at Stanford University, teaching in the History Department and Continuing Studies Program. He is a former Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New York and Special Representative in Washington, D.C. He began his work in the exile Tibetan community as a teacher at the first Tibetan refugee school in Mussoorie in 1960 and joined the Education Office of the Tibetan government in exile in 1967. In 1968, he co-founded Sheja Magazine and the Tibetan Youth Congress, serving in its first leadership executive committee.

During his tenure in New York, Tethong established The Tibet Fund and Potala Publications and played a key role in forming several Tibetan initiatives in the U.S. and Canada. He headed the Second Delegation of Tibetan exiles to Tibet and China in 1980. In Washington, D.C., he founded the International Campaign for Tibet. Elected as one of the first Kalons in 1990, he served in various portfolios, including Finance and Home, and as Kalon Tripa. In 1995, he moved to California and joined the Dalai Lama Foundation, promoting peace and ethics. He also launched “Tibet in Exile — Fifty Years” to document the last fifty years in exile.

Mr. Kalsang Yeshi

Mr. Kalsang Yeshi, former Minister to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, was born in Lhasa in 1941. He spent his early childhood in Kham and was in Chamdo with his family when the PLA attacked in 1950. After the Tibetan army was defeated, he moved back to Lhasa. He attended school and entered Drepung Monastery in Nyare Khamtsen of Loseling College in 1956, where he was admitted with the rank of Dratsang Choeze. He studied there for three years before fleeing in 1959 following Chinese shelling. Eventually, he made his way to the border with Bhutan.

From 1963 to 1965, Mr. Yeshi was posted at the Tibetan school in Mussoorie and later in Mainpat, Madhya Pradesh. In 1969, he entered the Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi and obtained his Acharya degree in 1972. He moved to the US in 1973, where he studied English and taught Tibetan at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia. Returning to India in 1979, he was elected Tibetan People’s Deputy representing the Gelukpa School and began working in the Department of Religious and Cultural Affairs in 1983. He organized the first Monlam or Great Prayer Festival in Bodh Gaya in 1985 and established the Norbulingka Institute in 1991, serving as its Director. In 1989, he was appointed Kalon for Religion and Culture and served as Prime Minister twice before resigning in 1997 due to health problems.

Mr. Juchen Thupten Namgyal

Juchen Thupten Namgyal was born in 1929 in Meshong, Dege district of Kham province. His early interest in Tibetan language and Buddhism led him to Lhasa and Sakya for further studies. Witnessing the Chinese military aggression in Kham in 1955, he joined the resistance and acted as a representative of the Chu Shi Gang Druk to inform Tibetan authorities of the brutalities. During the Tibetan uprising of 1959, he led a voluntary force to guard the Norbulingka Palace.

In exile, Juchen Thupten Namgyal continued to serve the Tibetan cause, holding various roles such as group leader, member of assembly, and member of the Co-operative Society in Mysore. He was elected to the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and later appointed as Kalon of the Information Department. He played a key role in negotiations with Beijing, being part of the first fact-finding delegation in 1979 and leading exploratory missions in the early 1980s. His efforts were instrumental in keeping the dialogue open with Chinese authorities, despite the challenges and eventual refusal by China to recognize the Tibetan government in exile. He passed away in 2011, leaving behind a legacy of dedication to Tibetan autonomy.

Mr. Tashi Wangdi

Mr. Tashi Wangdi was born in Sangag Choeling, Tibet, and fled to India with his family in 1959. His education began at the first school for Tibetan refugee children established by the Dalai Lama in Mussoorie. He furthered his studies in Britain, earning a B.A. (Honours) in Political Science and Sociology from Durham University. Upon returning to India, he joined the exile Tibetan Administration, serving in various departments, including Home Affairs and Education, as an English translator and later in political roles.

Mr. Wangdi’s career saw a rapid ascent as he was appointed as a Cabinet Minister by the Dalai Lama, overseeing multiple departments including Information & International Relations, Security, and Home. His contributions were not limited to administrative roles; he also represented the Dalai Lama in New Delhi, playing a significant part in the political affairs of the Tibetan exile community. His leadership and diplomatic skills were crucial in managing the complex dynamics of the Tibetan struggle for autonomy and international support.

Mr. Wangdue Dorjee

Born in 1914 in Tamshul near Lhasa, Mr. Wangdue Dorjee faced hardship early in life with the death of his father when he was just eleven. Despite his humble beginnings as a servant to an aristocratic family, he rose to significant positions within the Tibetan government in exile, thanks to the Dalai Lama’s recognition of his potential. After the 1959 Tibetan uprising, he became a key figure in distributing relief materials to refugees in Buxa Duar, leveraging his knowledge of Hindi. His leadership qualities were further recognized when he was elected to the 1st Tibetan Assembly representing Ü-Tsang.

Mr. Wangdue Dorjee’s career spanned several crucial roles, including serving as the secretary of Kashag from 1962 to 1964 and as the Minister of the Home Department from 1964 to 1983. He was pivotal in reissuing Tibetan resistance efforts in Nepal in 1973 and served as the Dalai Lama’s representative in New Delhi from 1977 to 1978. His tenure as the prime minister of the Tibetan Government in exile from 1980 to 1985 marked the pinnacle of his career. His dedication to preserving Tibetan history and culture was evident through his research and participation in significant negotiations with Chinese officials in 1989, despite China’s refusal to recognize the Tibetan government in exile.

Mr. Kheme Sonam Wangdue

Kheme Sonam Wangdue was born in Tibet as the youngest of five sons in the Surkhangpa family. At the age of nineteen, he was appointed to the government office in 1919, starting as the secretary of the seventh chamberlain, Chöma Chökyong. His career saw him serving in various capacities including cabinet secretary, governor of Kongpo Tsé Lhagang County, and handling critical situations like the rebellion in the Powo Kanam region. His ability to manage conflicts and maintain order was exemplified during his time in Kham, where he dealt with Chinese-backed unrest and ensured the stability of the region.

In 1950, Kheme Sonam Wangdue played a crucial role during the Chinese Communist invasion, being part of the delegation that signed the Seventeen-Point Agreement in Beijing. His contributions extended into his exile in India, where he continued his service as the assistant Home Kalon from 1963 to 1964. Despite the turbulent political landscape, he remained a dedicated and influential figure within the Tibetan government in exile until his passing in 1972. His efforts in translating maps and managing ammunitions showcased his versatility and commitment to the Tibetan cause.

Mr. Thupten Woeden Phala

Mr. Thupten Woeden Phala was born in 1910, in the Iron Dog year, into the prestigious Phala family. By the age of nineteen, he began his service as the Tsedrung of the Tibetan government at the Ganden Palace. Throughout his career, he ascended various significant roles such as the Tseskhang secretary, Tsugshing shingnyer, Serdong Konnyer, and eventually, the Tsekhen Dronchewa. His dedication and loyalty were particularly evident during the Communist invasion of Tibet in 1959 when he was instrumental in orchestrating the escape of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to India. Post-exile, he served as the Minister of Home Affairs from 1960 to 1963 and later as the Commissioner for Switzerland and Europe. His contributions remained invaluable until his retirement due to illness.

Despite his health struggles, Mr. Thupten Woeden Phala continued to be a stalwart figure in the Tibetan resistance against Chinese occupation. His unwavering commitment earned him a reputation as a calm, thoughtful, and courageous leader. Even in exile, his influence and dedication to the Tibetan cause did not wane. He remained deeply loyal to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, embodying the spirit of a true patriot. Mr. Thupten Woeden Phala passed away on May 27, 1985, in a Swiss hospital, leaving behind a legacy of resilience and devotion to the Tibetan struggle for freedom.