Lobsang Sangay
Encyclopedia
Lobsang Sangay is a Tibetan
refugee, legal scholar and political activist. He was elected as the next Kalon Tripa
(equivalent to Prime Minister) of the Tibetan Government in Exile on 26 April 2011, succeeding the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche
.
degrees from the University of Delhi
in India. In 1995, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard Law School
, where he subsequently received his LL.M.
degree the same year.
In 2003, Sangay organized five conferences between Chinese and Tibetan scholars, including a meeting between the Dalai Lama and thirty-five Chinese scholars at Harvard University
.
In 2004, he became the first Tibetan (among six million) to earn a S.J.D.
degree from Harvard Law School and was a recipient of the 2004 Yong K. Kim' 95 Prize of excellence for his dissertation Democracy in Distress: Is Exile Polity a Remedy? A Case Study of Tibet's Government-in-exile. In 2006, Sangay was selected as one of the twenty-four Young Leaders of Asia by the Asia Society
, a global organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. Sangay is currently a Senior Fellow at the East Asian Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School. He is an expert in Tibetan law and international human rights law
.
(37.4%) and Tashi Wangdi
(6.4%). 83,400 Tibet
an were eligible to vote and 49,000 ballots were cast. He will succeed Lobsang Tenzin
as the head of the Tibetan Government in Exile. On August 8, 2011 Lobsang Sangay officially took oath and accepted his post as the Kalon Tripa.
While the leadership of the government-in-exile is in a state of transition, the 14th Dalai Lama
remains formally ceremonial Head of State and has taken no political stances since his announced retirement in early 2011 from active participation in Tibetan affairs.
area in the US
. His mother Kelsang Choden from Chamdo lives with him and his father passed away in 2004. He is married to Kesang Yangdon Shakchang, whose parents were from the Lhokha and Phare area. They have been together for 13 years and have a three-year-old daughter.
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
refugee, legal scholar and political activist. He was elected as the next Kalon Tripa
Kalon Tripa
The Kalon Tripa, also Tibetan Prime Minister or "Chief Kalon", is the leader of the Kashag or Cabinet, part of the executive branch of the Central Tibetan Administration, a government in exile that claims the territory of the Tibetan Autonomous Region in China...
(equivalent to Prime Minister) of the Tibetan Government in Exile on 26 April 2011, succeeding the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche
Lobsang Tenzin
Lobsang Tenzin, better known by the titles Professor Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche and to Tibetans as the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche , was the previous Prime Minister , of the Central Tibetan Administration, or Tibetan government-in-exile, which is based in Dharamshala, India; Lobsang...
.
Education and academic career
After graduating from the Tibetan Refugee school in Darjeeling, Sangay received his B.A. (Hons) and LL.B.Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degrees from the University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
in India. In 1995, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, where he subsequently received his LL.M.
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
degree the same year.
In 2003, Sangay organized five conferences between Chinese and Tibetan scholars, including a meeting between the Dalai Lama and thirty-five Chinese scholars at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
In 2004, he became the first Tibetan (among six million) to earn a S.J.D.
Doctor of Juridical Science
Doctor of Juridical Science, Doctor of the Science of Law, Scientiae Juridicae Doctor , abbreviated J.S.D. or S.J.D., is a research doctorate in law and equivalent to the PhD It is offered primarily in the United States, where it originated, and in Canada...
degree from Harvard Law School and was a recipient of the 2004 Yong K. Kim' 95 Prize of excellence for his dissertation Democracy in Distress: Is Exile Polity a Remedy? A Case Study of Tibet's Government-in-exile. In 2006, Sangay was selected as one of the twenty-four Young Leaders of Asia by the Asia Society
Asia Society
The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States and around the world Hong Kong, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, and Melbourne...
, a global organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. Sangay is currently a Senior Fellow at the East Asian Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School. He is an expert in Tibetan law and international human rights law
International human rights law
International human rights law refers to the body of international law designed to promote and protect human rights at the international, regional and domestic levels...
.
Governmental career
On April 27, 2011 he was elected Kalon Tripa of the Tibetan Government in Exile. Sangay won 55% of the votes, defeating Tenzin TethongTenzin Tethong
Tenzin Namgyal Tethong is a Tibetan political figure and a former Prime Minister of Central Tibetan Administration.-Early life:...
(37.4%) and Tashi Wangdi
Tashi Wangdi
Tashi Wangdi is the Representative to the Americas for the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. He has held that position since April 16, 2005. Since 1966 he has served the Central Tibetan Administration, Tibet's government-in-exile...
(6.4%). 83,400 Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an were eligible to vote and 49,000 ballots were cast. He will succeed Lobsang Tenzin
Lobsang Tenzin
Lobsang Tenzin, better known by the titles Professor Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche and to Tibetans as the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche , was the previous Prime Minister , of the Central Tibetan Administration, or Tibetan government-in-exile, which is based in Dharamshala, India; Lobsang...
as the head of the Tibetan Government in Exile. On August 8, 2011 Lobsang Sangay officially took oath and accepted his post as the Kalon Tripa.
While the leadership of the government-in-exile is in a state of transition, the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
remains formally ceremonial Head of State and has taken no political stances since his announced retirement in early 2011 from active participation in Tibetan affairs.
Personal life
Sangay was born in a village in Darjeeling in 1968, with a typical Shichak (settlement) background amidst fields, cows, chicken, fetching wood in the forest and helping his parent's small business including winter sweater selling. Presently, he lives in Greater BostonGreater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
area in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His mother Kelsang Choden from Chamdo lives with him and his father passed away in 2004. He is married to Kesang Yangdon Shakchang, whose parents were from the Lhokha and Phare area. They have been together for 13 years and have a three-year-old daughter.
Works
- Tibet: Exiles' Journey, Journal of DemocracyJournal of DemocracyThe Journal of Democracy is a quarterly academic journal established in 1990 and an official publication of the National Endowment for Democracy...
– Volume 14, Number 3, July 2003, pp. 119-130 Tibet: Exiles' Journey archivedhttp://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=2003&m=7&p=24_2 - We Sing a Song of Sadness Tibetan Political Prisoners Speak Out, Billy Jackson, Publish America, 2004, ISBN 1413716776
- Lobsang Sangay, China in Tibet: Forty Years of Liberation or Occupation?, Harvard Asia Quarterly, Volume III, No. 3, 1999.
- Human rights and Buddhism : cultural relativism, individualism & universalism, Thesis (LL. M.), Harvard Law School, 1996,
- Democracy in distress : is exile polity a remedy? : a case study of Tibet's government in exile, Thesis (S.J.D.), Harvard Law School, 2004,
- A constitutional analysis of the secularization of the Tibetan diaspora : the role of the Dalai Lama, in Theology and the soul of the liberal state, ed. Leonard V Kaplan; Charles Lloyd Cohen, Lanham : Lexington Books, 2010, ISBN 9780739126172