Sikyong

The Sikyong (Tibetan: སྲིད་སྐྱོང༌, Wylie: srid-skyong, Lhasa dialect: [ˈsícóŋ] ) is the head of the Central Tibetan Administration, a Tibetan exile organisation also known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. The title was created in 2012. On April 26, 2017, internal circular from Kashag announced that Sikyong would be rendered in English as 'President' of the Central Tibetan Administration[1]

Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration
སྲིད་སྐྱོང༌
"Truth in Love"
StyleHis Excellency
ResidenceKashag
Dharamsala, India
AppointerDirect popular vote
Term lengthFive years
Formation1907
as Kalön Tripa of Tibet
8 August 2011
Sikyong
First holderChankhyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya
Websitewww.tibet.net

The current Sikyong is Lobsang Sangay. The Sikyong is the head of the Kashag or Cabinet, part of the executive branch of the Central Tibetan Administration. This office should not be confused with the "Chairman of the Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region".[2]

The first directly elected Kalön Tripa was Lobsang Tenzin, the Samdhong Rinpoche, who was elected August 20, 2001.[3]

Before 2011, the Kalön Tripa position was subordinate to the 14th Dalai Lama[4] who presided over the government in exile from its founding.[5] In August of that year, Lobsang Sangay polled 55 per cent votes out of 49,189, defeating his nearest rival Tethong Tenzin Namgyal by 8,646 votes, becoming the second popularly elected Kalon Tripa. The Dalai Lama announced that his political authority would be transferred to Sangay while remaining as spiritual leader and figurehead of the CTA.[6]

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.[7] 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", as distinct from "spiritual leader".[8] Foreign affairs Kalon Dicki Chhoyang claimed that the term "Sikyong" has had a precedent dating back to the 7th Dalai Lama, and that the name change "ensures historical continuity and legitimacy of the traditional leadership from the fifth Dalai Lama".[9] The online Dharma Dictionary translates sikyong (srid skyong) as "secular ruler; regime, regent". The title sikyong had previously been used by regents who ruled Tibet during the Dalai Lama's minority. It is also used in Tibetan to refer to the governors of the states of the United States.

List of Kalön Tripas and Sikyongs

Tibet

# Name Took Office Left Office Monarch
1Chankhyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya19071920
Dalai Lama
Thubten Gyatso
(1879 – 1933)
2Paljor Dorje Shatra19071923
3Sholkhang Dhondup Phuntsog19071926
4Langdun Kunga Wangchuk19261940
5Lobsang Tashi19501952
Lukhangwa Tsewang Rabden19501952
Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso
(reigned in Tibet 1937 – 1950; 1937 onwards as Dalai Lama)

Central Tibetan Administration — Kalön Tripa

# Name Took Office Left Office Monarch
1Jangsa Tsangy19591960

Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso
(reigned in exile 1950 – 2011; 1937 onwards as Dalai Lama)
2Surkhang Wangchen Gelek19601964
3Gyurme Sonam Topgyal19651970
4Garang Lobsang Rigzin19701975
5Kunling Woeser Gyaltsen19751980
6Wangdue Dorjee19801985
7Juchen Thupten Namgyal19851990
8Kalsang Yeshi19901991
9Gyalo Thondup19911993
10Tenzin Tethong19931996
11Sonam Topgyal19962001
12Lobsang Tenzin20012011
13Lobsang Sangay20112012

Central Tibetan Administration — Sikyong

# Name Took Office Left Office Head of State
13Lobsang Sangay2012Present
Himself

References
  1. "President Is the English Title for Sikyong". Central Tibetan Administration. May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  2. 西藏自治区人民政府主席
  3. 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.)
  4. The Charter of Tibetans in-Exile, Article 20 of the Constitution of Tibet, retrieved 2010-03-19.
  5. The Charter of Tibetans in-Exile, Articles 19, 30, & 31 of the Constitution of Tibet, retrieved 2010-03-19.
  6. Dean Nelson Lobsang Sangay: profile, The Telegraph, 08 Aug 2011
  7. Tibetan Parliament changes 'Kalon Tripa' to 'Sikyong'
  8. "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.
  9. "International Support Groups Meet in Dharamsala to Deal with Critical Situation In Tibet". Central Tibetan Administration. 2012-11-16.
Speech/transcription

See also
Elections
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