Sikyong

Last updated
Head of the Central Tibetan Administration
སྲིད་སྐྱོང༌
Emblem of Tibet.svg
Emblem of Tibet
Penpa Tsering - Sikyong.jpg
Incumbent
Penpa Tsering
since 21 May 2021
Central Tibetan Administration
Style His Excellency
Member of Cabinet
Residence Dharamsala, India
AppointerDirect popular vote
Term length Five years
Formation1907 (as Kalön Tripa)
8 August 2011 (as Sikyong)
Website www.tibet.net

The Sikyong (Tibetan : སྲིད་སྐྱོང༌, Wylie : srid-skyong, Lhasa dialect : [ˈsícóŋ] ) is the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, a Tibetan exile organisation in India also known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile based on the 2011 Charter of Tibetans-in-exile. The title was created in 2012 after the 14th Dalai Lama decided not to assume any political and administrative authority as the head of the Tibetan Administration for Tibetans-in-exile.

Contents

The current Sikyong is Penpa Tsering. The Sikyong is the political leader of the Kashag, part of the executive branch of the Central Tibetan Administration. This office should not be confused with the "Chairman of the People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region" (西藏自治区人民政府主席).

The first directly elected Kalön Tripa was Lobsang Tenzin, the Samdhong Rinpoche, who was elected August 20, 2001. [1]

Before 2011, the Kalön Tripa position was subordinate to the 14th Dalai Lama [2] who presided over the government in exile from its founding. [3] In 2011, the Dalai Lama announced that his political authority would be transferred to Sangay. [4]

Kalön Tripa

On September 20, 2012, the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile unanimously voted to change the title of Kalön Tripa to Sikyong in Article 19 of the Charter of the Tibetans in exile and relevant articles. [5] The Dalai Lama had previously referred to the Kalon Tripa as Sikyong, and this usage was cited as the primary justification for the name change. According to Tibetan Review, "Sikyong" translates to "political leader". [6] The online Dharma Dictionary translates sikyong (srid skyong) as "secular ruler; regime, regent". [7]

Kalön Tripa

Tibet

No.PortraitName
(birth–death)
Term of office Dalai Lama Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Wangchuk Gyalpo Tsarong.jpg Tsarong Wangchuk Gyalpo
(1903–c.1912)
190319128–9 years 13th Dalai Lama
(1879–1933)
Chankyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya.jpg Chankhyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya
(?–c.1920)
1907192012–13 years
Paljor Dorje Shatra.jpg Paljor Dorje Shatra
(c.1860c.1926)
1907192315–16 years
Hastings House Calcutta 1910 (Sholkhang).jpg Sholkhang Dhondup Phuntsog  [ fr ]
(1862–1926)
1907192618–19 years
2 Langdun Kunga Wangchuk 6.jpg Langdun  [ fr ]
(1906–1980)
1926194013–14 years 13th Dalai Lama
(1879–1933)
14th Dalai Lama
(1937–1950)
3 Ben Zhu Cang *Luo Sang Zha Xi .jpg Lobsang Tashi
(1897–1966)
195027 April 19521–2 years 14th Dalai Lama
(1937–1950)
Lu Kang Wa *Ze Wang Rao Deng .jpg Lukhangwa  [ fr ]
(1895–1966)
195027 April 19521–2 years

Kashag[ citation needed ]

No.PortraitName
(birth–death)
Term of office Dalai Lama Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 No image.png Jangsa Tsangy 195919600–1 years 14th Dalai Lama
in exile
(1950–present)
2 Shokhang.jpg Surkhang Wangchen Gelek  [ fr ]
(1910–1977)
196019643–4 years
3 Xian Ke *Ju Mei Duo Ji (Xia Su ), Luo Sang Zha Xi , Liu Xia *Tu Deng Ta Ba .jpg Gyurme Sonam Topgyal  [ fr ]
(1896–1967)
19651967 †1–2 years
4 No image.png Garang Lobsang Rigzin  [ fr ]
(1905–?)
197019754–5 years
5 Kundeling Dzasa Woser Gyaltsen.jpg Kunling Woeser Gyaltsen  [ fr ]
(1915–2001)
197519804–5 years
6 No image.png Wangdue Dorjee  [ fr ]
(1919–1994)
198019854–5 years
7 Voa Juchen Thupten Namgyal 480.jpg Juchen Thupten Namgyal  [ fr ]
(1929–2011)
198519904–5 years
8 No image.png Kalsang Yeshi  [ fr ]
(born 1941)
199019910–1 years
9 Gyalo Thondup.jpg Gyalo Thondup
(born c.1927)
199119931–2 years
10 Tenzin Tethong.jpg Tenzin Tethong
(born 1947)
199319962–3 years
11 Sonam Topgyal (cropped).jpg Sonam Topgyal
(1940–2012)
April 19975 September 20014 years, 5 months [8]
12 Samdhong Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin crop.JPG Lobsang Tenzin
(born 1937)
5 September 20018 August 20119 years, 337 days
13 Lobsang Sangay, Tibetan Prime Minister.jpg Lobsang Sangay
(born 1968)
8 August 201120 September 20121 year, 43 days

Sikyong

No.PortraitName
(birth–death)
Term of office Cabinet [9] ElectedRef.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Lobsang Sangay, Tibetan Prime Minister.jpg Lobsang Sangay
(born 1968)
20 September 201221 May 20218 years, 243 days 14th cabinet 2011-12
15th cabinet 2016-17
2 Penpa Tsering - Sikyong.jpg Penpa Tsering
(born 1967)
21 May 2021Incumbent2 years, 169 days 16th cabinet
17th cabinet 2021-22

See also

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References

  1. Donovan Roebert, Samdhong Rinpoche: Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World (World Wisdom, 2006) ISBN   978-1-933316-20-8 (On August 20, 2001, Venerable Professor Samdhong Rinpoche was elected Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) of the Tibetan Government in Exile, receiving 84.5% of the popular exile vote.)
  2. The Charter of Tibetans in-Exile, Article 20 of the Constitution of Tibet, retrieved 2010-03-19.
  3. The Charter of Tibetans in-Exile, Articles 19, 30, & 31 of the Constitution of Tibet, retrieved 2010-03-19.
  4. Dean Nelson Lobsang Sangay: profile, The Telegraph, 08 Aug 2011
  5. "Tibetan Parliament changes 'Kalon Tripa' to 'Sikyong'". Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2012-09-24.
  6. "Kalon Tripa to be now referred to as Sikyong". Tibetan Review. 2012-09-22. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  7. "Srid skyong - Rangjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionary".
  8. Jay, Sophie (31 December 2012). "Former Tibetan prime minster, Sonam Topgyal, dies in Dharamshala". thetibetpost.com. Tibet Post International. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  9. "The Kashag (Cabinet)". Central Tibetan Administration. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
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