Sikyong

Head of the Central Tibetan Administration
སྲིད་སྐྱོང༌
Emblem of Tibet
Incumbent Penpa Tsering since 21 May 2021
Central Tibetan Administration
Style	His Excellency
Member of	Cabinet
Residence	Dharamsala, India
Appointer	Direct popular vote
Term length	Five years
Formation	1907 (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.

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 the Sikyong.[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

See also: Tibet (1912–1951)

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Dalai Lama	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Tsarong Wangchuk Gyalpo (1903–c. 1912)	1903	1912	8–9 years	13th Dalai Lama (1879–1933)
		Chankhyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya (?–c. 1920)	1907	1920	12–13 years
		Paljor Dorje Shatra (c. 1860–c. 1926)	1907	1923	15–16 years
		Sholkhang Dhondup Phuntsog [fr] (1862–1926)	1907	1926	18–19 years
2		Langdun [fr] (1906–1980)	1926	1940	13–14 years	13th Dalai Lama (1879–1933) 14th Dalai Lama (1937–1950)
3		Lobsang Tashi (1897–1966)	1950	27 April 1952	1–2 years	14th Dalai Lama (1937–1950)
		Lukhangwa [fr] (1895–1966)	1950	27 April 1952	1–2 years

Kashag^[citation needed]

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Dalai Lama	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Jangsa Tsangy	1959	1960	0–1 years	14th Dalai Lama in exile (1950–present)
2		Surkhang Wangchen Gelek [fr] (1910–1977)	1960	1964	3–4 years
3		Gyurme Sonam Topgyal [fr] (1896–1967)	1965	1967 †	1–2 years
4		Garang Lobsang Rigzin [fr] (1905–?)	1970	1975	4–5 years
5		Kunling Woeser Gyaltsen [fr] (1915–2001)	1975	1980	4–5 years
6		Wangdue Dorjee [fr] (1919–1994)	1980	1985	4–5 years
7		Juchen Thupten Namgyal [fr] (1929–2011)	1985	1990	4–5 years
8		Kalsang Yeshi [fr] (born 1941)	1990	1991	0–1 years
9		Gyalo Thondup (born c. 1927)	1991	1993	1–2 years
10		Tenzin Tethong (born 1947)	1993	1996	2–3 years
11		Sonam Topgyal (1940–2012)	April 1997	5 September 2001	4 years, 5 months		[8]
12		Lobsang Tenzin (born 1937)	5 September 2001	8 August 2011	9 years, 337 days
13		Lobsang Sangay (born 1968)	8 August 2011	20 September 2012	1 year, 43 days

Sikyong

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Cabinet[9]	Elected	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Lobsang Sangay (born 1968)	20 September 2012	21 May 2021	8 years, 243 days	14th cabinet	2011-12
						15th cabinet	2016-17
2		Penpa Tsering (born 1967)	21 May 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 246 days	16th cabinet	–
						17th cabinet	2021-22

See also

• 2021 Central Tibetan Administration general election

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 minister, 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.

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