Kalon Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay, "Tibet--Prospects of a Dialogue"

Harvard University presents a discussion with Dr. Lobsang Sangay on the possibility of dialogue with the Chinese government to resolve the issue of Tibet peacefully.

Dr. Lobsang Sangay will speak on the possibility of dialogue with the Chinese government to resolve the issue of Tibet peacefully.  In 2011 His Holiness the Dalai Lama handed over his political authority to Dr. Sangay, a 43-year-old Harvard Law School graduate and Tibet's democratically elected leader in exile, also known as Sikyong (political leader). Tibetan representatives and Chinese officials have had nine rounds of talks since September 2002, with the last meeting in early 2010. Since then the situation inside Tibet has deteriorated, and there have been 51 cases of Tibetan self-immolation. Dr. Sangay has called for early resumption of dialogue with China and reaffirmed his commitment to the Middle Way Approach and the dialogue process to resolve the Tibet issue on the basis of mutual benefit.

Lobsang Sangay was born and grew up in a Tibetan settlement near Darjeeling, where he attended the Central School for Tibetans. He received his BA and LLB degrees from Delhi University. In 1992, he was elected the youngest executive member of the Tibetan Youth Congress. He obtained his SJD from Harvard Law School in 2004, the first Tibetan ever to do so. Dr. Sangay is an expert on international human rights law, democratic constitutionalism, and conflict resolution. He was affiliated with the East Asian Legal Studies program at Harvard Law School until his election as Kalon Tripa in 2011.

Dr. Lobsang Sangay was elected to the post of Kalon Tripa in an unprecedented competitive democratic election in the Tibetan diaspora. On August 8, 2011, during the swearing–in ceremony of the Kalon Tripa, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “When I was young, an elderly regent Takdrag Rinpoche handed over Sikyong (political leadership) to me, and today I am handing over Sikyong to young Lobsang Sangay….In doing this I have fulfilled my long-cherished goal.”