Lobsang Sangay

Lobsang Sangay
བློ་བཟང་སེང་གེ་
1st Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration
In office
20 September 2012 – 27 May 2021
Succeeded byPenpa Tsering
13th Kalon Tripa
In office
8 August 2011 – 20 September 2012
Preceded byLobsang Tenzin
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Foreign Minister of the Tibetan Administration in Exile
Assumed office
28 February 2016
Preceded byDicki Chhoyang
Personal details
Born (1968-09-05) 5 September 1968 (age 56)
Darjeeling, West Bengal, India
CitizenshipAmerican
Political partyNational Democratic Party of Tibet
Children1
EducationUniversity of Delhi (BA, LLB)
Harvard University (LLM, SJD)
Lobsang Sangay
Tibetan name
Tibetan བློ་བཟང་སེང་གེ་
Transcriptions
Wylieblo-bzang seng-ge
Lhasa IPATibetan pronunciation: [ˈlópsaŋ ˈséŋke]
Chinese name
Chinese洛桑森格
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLuòsāng Sēngé

Lobsang Sangay (Tibetan: བློ་བཟང་སེང་གེ་, lit.'kind-hearted lion') is a Tibetan-American politician in exile who was Kalon Tripa of the Tibetan Administration in India from 2011 to 2012, and Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration in India from 2012 to 2021.

The Tibetan Administration was created in 1991 after the 14th Dalai Lama rejected calls for Tibetan independence.[1] The 14th Dalai Lama became permanent head of the Tibetan Administration and the executive functions for Tibetans-in-exile in 1991. In March 2011, at 71 years of age, the 14th Dalai Lama decided not to assume any political and administrative authority. The Charter of Tibetans in Exile was updated immediately in May 2011, and all articles related to political duties and regents of the 14th Dalai Lama were repealed.

Sangay was born in Darjeeling, India, and studied international law and democracy at Harvard University.[2] He holds American citizenship.[3]

  1. ^ "The Dalai Lama Has Been the Face of Buddhism for 60 Years. China Wants to Change That". Time. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  2. ^ Dr Lobsang Sangay Archived 2019-03-17 at the Wayback Machine, National Press Club of Australia website
  3. ^ Raphael Ahren, In 1st Israel visit, a Tibetan leader quietly seeks support, hails Jews’ return, The Times of Israel, June 25, 2018: "Sangay, who spent many years in the US and holds American citizenship."