Ministers of the Tibetan Government in Exile

Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche
Department of Information & International Relations and Department of Security

Venerable Prof. Samdhong Lobsang Tenzin, the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche, was born on 5th November, 1939 in Jol, Eastern Tibet. At the age of five, he was recognised as the reincarnation of 4th Samdhong Rinpoche and enthroned in Gaden Dechenling Monastery at Jol. He started his religious training at Drepung Monastery in Lhasa and completed his (Uma Nyinpa)- middle school of the Madhyamika School of Buddhism at the age of 12. He fled to exile in the year 1959 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet. From October 1961, he served as the religious teacher of Tibetan School in Shimla, and later becoming the acting principal of Shimla Tibetan School in 1963. Then again he worked as religious teacher of Darjeeling Tibetan school in 1964.

From 1965 to 1970 Rinpoche was the Principal of Dalhousie Tibetan School. He received his Lharampa Degree in the year 1968 and Ngagrimpa Degree in 1969. From 1971 to 1988 he was the Principal of Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS, Varanasi). From 1988 to 2001 he worked as the Director CIHTS. In 1990, he was a member of the Drafting Committee Constitution of the Future Polity of Tibet and Law for the exiled Tibetans. From 1991 to 1995 he was specially appointed by His Holiness as one of the deputies of ATPD and later was unanimously elected as its Chairman. From 1996 to 2001 he was elected member of the Parliament from Kham province and also its Chairman.

Kalon Thupten Lungrig
Department of Education and Department of Religion & Culture

Mr. Thupten Lungrig was born in Amdo, northeastern Tibet, in 1957.

Mr. Lungrig obtained his Acharya degree in 1981 from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi, India.

He subsequently underwent Teachers' Training Course (TTC) for one year and then taught at the Tibetan Children's Village School in Dharamsala. Later in 1993 Mr. Lungrig was promoted as the Director of the Tibetan Children's Village School in Suja.

In 1996 he was one of three members appointed to the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (ATPD) by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The ATPD, in turn, elected him as its Vice-chairperson.

In 2001 he was voted to the ATPD to represent the Amdo province. The ATPD, in turn, elected him as its Chairperson.

Kalon Lobsang Nyima
Department of Home

Mr. Lobsang Nyima was born in 1939 in Dokhar, in the Central Tibetan district of Lhoka.

In 1945 he joined Gaden Choepel-ling Monastery in his native village. Later, he joined the Loseling College of Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, and, later, became secretary to the Abbot of Gaden Choepel-ling for two years.

In 1959 he escaped to India, and subsequently joined the Shartse College of Gaden Monastery and Gyutoed Tantric College in India.

In 1969 he joined the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi. In 1971, he became a member of the Tibetan Freedom Movement, and visited Tibetan communities in Dharamsala, Dalhousie, Kullu, Shimla, etc. to publicise the aims and objectives of this newly-formed organization.

Mr. Nyima had to discontinue his education in 1972, when the Tibetan Administration appointed him Settlement Officer in Bandhara, Maharastra.

From then till his retirement in 1997, Mr. Nyima served the Tibetan community in various capacities: Welfare Officer in Dalhousie, Settlement Officer in Orissa,

Manager of Tibetan Handicrafts Centre in Jawalakhel, Nepal, and Secretary of the Tibetan Public Service Commission in Dharamsala.

Kalon Lobsang Nyandak
Department of Finance and Department Health.

Mr. Lobsang Nyandak was born in Kalimpong, India, in 1965.

From 1996 till now, Mr. Nyandak has been the Director of Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a NGO based in Dharamsala.

In 1996, just as he started working for (TCHRD), he was elected to the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies to represent the Kham province. He held this post till 2001. During the same period, Mr. Nyandak served as the Vice-president/Secretary of the National Democratic Party of Tibet.

Earlier, from 1990 to 1995, he had served as the Secretary and Joint Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress.

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Last updated: 13-Feb-2002