The () is the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, a

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

an 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 The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

decided not to assume any political and administrative authority as the head of the Tibetan Administration for Tibetans-in-exile. 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" (). The first directly elected Kalön Tripa was Lobsang Tenzin, the Samdhong Rinpoche, who was elected August 20, 2001. Before 2011, the Kalön Tripa position was subordinate to the

who presided over the government in exile from its founding. In 2011, the Dalai Lama announced that his political authority would be transferred to the Sikyong.

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. 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". The online Dharma Dictionary translates sikyong (''srid skyong'') as "secular ruler; regime, regent".

''Kalön Tripa''

Tibet

''Kashag''

''Sikyong''

References

External links

; Speech/transcription
Penpa Tsering sworn in as the Sikyong of 16th Kashag

Key note address by Dr. Lobsang Sangay, Kalon Tripa, Tibetan Government in Exile on 06 September 2011 at the VIF Seminar on Tibet
; Elections
Kalon Tripa election in 2011

Kalön Tripa 2011 election results
{{Tibetan elections Central Tibetan Administration