Lobsang Nyandak, sometimes written Lobsang Nyendak () also called Lobsang Nyandak Zayul () is a Tibetan diplomat and politician. born in 1965 in

Kalimpong Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where he performed his studies in

Herbertpur Herbertpur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Dehradun district Pachhhwadoon in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttarakhand. Geography Herbertpur is located on the bank of river Asan and the name of the place is on the name ...

and at

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both Punjab, India, State and Government of India, Union governments, it is considered a state university (Indi ...

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

. There, he held functions at

Tibetan Youth Congress The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) is an international non-governmental organization that advocates the independence of Tibet from China. With around 30,000 members in the Tibetan diaspora, it is the largest of the pro-independence organizations of ...

before becoming the founding Executive Director of the

Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is a Tibetan non-governmental nonprofit human rights organization. The TCHRD investigates and reports on human rights issues in Tibet and among Tibetan minorities throughout China. It is ...

. Member of the National Democratic Party of Tibet, he was elected deputy and was selected as a minister by

Samdhong Rinpoche () is a Tibetan religious title. ''Rinpoche Rinpoche, also spelled Rimboche and Rinboku (), is an honorific term used in the Tibetan language. It literally means "precious one", and may refer to a person, place, or thing—like the words "gem" ...

(

Lobsang Tenzin Lobsang Tenzin, better known by the titles Professor Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche (zam gdong rin po che) and to Tibetans as the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche (born 5 November 1937), is a Tibetan Buddhist monk and politician who served as the Prime Min ...

), the first elected

Kalon Tripa The () is the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, a Tibetan exile organisation 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 ...

Central Tibetan Administration The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, compo ...

(CTA). He then was the Representative of the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

to the Americas and became president of The Tibet Fund.

Early life and education

Nyandak was born in

, India in 1965 to a Tibetan refugee family. He completed his elementary and high school education at SFF Tibetan School in

, India, a school for children of Tibetan families recruited into the

Special Frontier Force The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is an Indian special operations unit created on 14 November 1962. It mainly comprised Tibetan refugees living in India. Now it has increased in size and scope of operations. Its primary goal originally was to ...

(SFF). Nyandak graduated from

in Chandigarh, India, with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and a

B.Ed. A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

in 1986.

Career

Tibetan Youth Congress (1988–1995)

Nyandak served as General Secretary of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) in Chandigarh, India (1987Tibet Fund director announces candidature for top exile Tibetan elective post
''

Tibetan Review ''Tibetan Review'' is a Tibetan monthly journal and news website published in English, based in Delhi, India. It was first published in Darjeeling, West Bengal in April 1967 by Lodi Gyari. It is well known for its open and vibrant democratic for ...

'', 5 mars 2020-89). Nyandak became Executive Secretary and Joint Secretary of the Central Executive Committee (Centrex) of the

(TYC) (1990–92) and later took over as General Secretary of TYC (1992–1995). Lobsang Nyandak and Richard Gere

Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (1996–2001)

Nyandak was the founding Executive Director of the

(TCHRD), a non-governmental human rights organisation established in January 1996 in

Dharamsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

. He represented Tibetans at international conferences, such as in 1997 at the UN Human Rights Commission; in 1998 at a conference-debate on Human Rights and Asian values organized by

International Federation for Human Rights The International Federation for Human Rights (french: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international h ...

and

Wei Jingsheng Wei Jingsheng (; born 20 May 1950) is a Chinese human rights activist and dissident. He is best known for his involvement in the Chinese democracy movement. He is most prominent for having authored the essay "The Fifth Modernization", which wa ...

on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Commission session in Geneva; in 2001 at the

World Conference against Racism The World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) is a series of international events organized by UNESCO to promote struggle against racism ideologies and behaviours. Five conferences have been held so far, in 1978, 1983, 2001, 2009 and 2021. Founded ...

in South Africa. Following his appointment as minister in 2001, Nyandak served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the TCHRD from 2001 until 2004.

Deputy (1996–2001)

In 1996, Nyandak was elected to the

Tibetan Parliament This article lists the modern political leaders of Tibet within the China, People's Republic of China. The transition from Lamaist rule in Tibet started in 1951 with the Seventeen Point Agreement between the Central People's Government of the Pe ...

, to represent the province of

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

in Eastern Tibet. During this period, Nyandak also served as Vice President and Secretary of the Executive Committee of the National Democratic Party of Tibet.

Minister (2001–2006)

In 2001, Nyandak was appointed as a Minister (Kalon) during the first tenure of

(

), the first elected Prime Minister (

) of the Central Tibetan Administration. As a Kalon, Nyandak was in charge of three departments: the Department of Information and International Relations (2005–2006), the Department of Finance (2001–2006) and the Department of Health (2001–2005). As Minister of International Relations, Nyandak served as a member of the and again from 2012 to present. As Minister of Finance, Nyandak oversaw the overall financial health of the CTA and established Tibetan business bodies, including the Tibetan Chamber of Commerce. During this time period, Nyandak also served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CTA's Social and Resource Development Fund (SARD) and Managing Trustee of the Dalai Lama's Charitable Trust.

Representative of the 14th Dalai Lama (2008–2013)

Nyandak moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with his family in 2007 and joined the

Tibet Fund The Tibet Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1981 under the auspices of the Dalai Lama. The Tibet Fund is the primary funding organization for the health, education, refugee reha ...

as its Development Director in 2008 until he was appointed as the Representative of the

at the Office of Tibet in United States from September 2008 to 2013. He was responsible for organizing visits of the Dalai Lama to North America, including arranging meetings with leaders and educators. Lobsang Nyandak, Tibetan Lunar New Year - Losar 2147, New York

Lobsang Nyandak, Tibetan Lunar New Year - Losar 2147, New York

Tibet Fund (2013–present)

In 2013, Nyandak was appointed as the Executive Director of the

, and in 2017, he became President of the organization.

Prime Minister campaigns

2011

Lobsang Nyandak was candidate initially for the 2011 election of Tibetan Prime Minister and a poll directed by Shambala Post estimated he was second in popularity, after

Lobsang Sangay Lobsang Sangay (, ; born 5 September 1968) is a Tibetan-American politician who was Kalon Tripa of the Tibetan Administration from 2011 to 2012, and Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration from 2012 to 2021. The Tibetan Administration wa ...

. He finally decided not to run for the 2011 election.

2021

On March 2, 2020, Lobsang Nyandak publicly announced his candidacy for the 2021 election of Tibetan Prime Minister (

Sikyong The () is the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, a Tibetan exile organisation 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 ...

). In his program, he declares he is confident to re-establish contact with the Chinese Government to resolve the Tibetan issue, and aims to transform Tibet in a peace zone, as envisaged by the 14th Dalai LamaLobsang Nyandak: Why am I running for Sikyong?
''

Tibet Sun __NOTOC__ Tibet Sun is an English-language news website focusing on Tibet and the Tibetan people, world news, opinions, essays, and photography from other media. It was founded and produced by Lobsang Wangyal in 2008, and is based in Dharamshala, ...

'', 16 August 2020

Personal life

Nyandak is married to Tenzin Palmo. They have three children.

Publications

The Dalai Lama Institution is a Year Older!

, 7 July 2020
Opinion: Why am I running for Sikyong?

, 16 August 2020

References

External links

Representative Lobsang Nyandak Speech in New York
11 March 2013, YouTube, Office of Tibet Washington, DC
Lobsang Nyandak at Emory University on Tibet's Self Immolation
28 March 2013, YouTube, Emory University

13 February 2019, video of Voice of America's Kunleng Tibetan program interview
Google books sourcers

Additional verifiable mentions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyandak, Lobsang 2021 Central Tibetan Administration general election Central Tibetan Administration elections Members of the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration Government ministers of Tibet Foreign ministers of Tibet Representatives of Offices of Tibet Tibetan human rights activists Tibetan activists Panjab University alumni Living people 1965 births Central Tibetan Administration Politics of Tibet Tibetan political people Tibetan politicians People of Tibetan descent American people of Tibetan descent Tibetan American Tibetan Buddhists Tibetan diaspora Tibetan diaspora in North America National Democratic Party of Tibet politicians Tibet–United States relations Non-profit executives