Candidates Kalon Tripa 2011 www.kalontripa.org Dr. Lobsang Sangay, LL.M., S.J.D. is presently a Senior Fellow at the East Asian Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School. After graduating from Tibetan Refugee school in Darjeeling, he received his BA (Honors), and LLB from Delhi University, India, in 1995, and won a Fulbright scholarship to Harvard Law School where he received his LLM. In 2004, he became the first Tibetan (among six million) to earn a doctorate degree from Harvard Law School, and was a recipient of the 2004 Yong K. Kim 95 Prize of Excellence for his dissertation "Democracy in Distress: Is Exile Polity a Remedy? A Case Study of Tibet's Government-in-exile." In 2006, he was selected as one of the twenty-four Young Leaders of Asia by the Asia Society, a global organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. In India, he was elected the youngest national executive member ever of the Tibetan Youth Congress (CENTREX), the largest NGO among Tibetans in exile. For the last thirteen years, in his Track II initiative work, Dr. Sangay has organized six unprecedented conferences between Chinese and Tibetan scholars at Harvard University, including a rare meeting between HH the Dalai Lama and thirty-five mainland Chinese scholars in 2003. Prominent scholars on Tibet from Beijing, Lhasa, Dharamsala, Europe and the US have participated. The latest conference titled "Autonomy in Tibet" was held on November 27-28, 2007. He has given numerous talks on the Sino-Tibet conflict and exile Tibetan issues in various institutes and venues around the world. He has been consulted by the news media, including the BBC, Time, South China Morning Post, Washington Post, Far Eastern Economic Review, and the Boston Globe, and has published articles about the Tibetan issue in the Harvard Asia Quarterly and Journal of Democracy. Withdrawal of Mr. Tashi Wangdi Mr. Tashi Wangdi la has requested that his name be removed from the list of nominees. In light of the nominee’s self-withdrawal, Kalon Tripa 2011 Initiative will accept his nominators’ and endorsers’ support for another individual. Kasur Tashi Wangdi has a BA in Political Science and Sociology from Durham University. He has served as Representative of the Dalai Lama to Europe since 16 April 2005. He had previously served as His Holiness' representative in New Delhi. He has served the Tibetan government-in-exile since 1966, starting as a junior officer and rising to the highest rank of Kalon (Cabinet Minister). As a Kalon, he at one time or another was head of the major ministries, including the Department of Religion and Culture, Department of Home, Department of Education, Department of Information and International Relations, Department of Security, and Department of Health. Tashi Wangdi describes himself as a civil servant. Tenzin N. Tethong is Distinguished Fellow, Tibetan Studies Initiative, at Stanford University. He teaches in the History Department and the Continuing Studies Program, and is an Executive Committee member of CCARE (Center for Compassion & Altruism Research and Education), an initiative of the Stanford School of Medicine within the Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences. Mr. Tethong is a former Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New York (1973-1986) and Special Representative of His Holiness in Washington, D.C. (1987-1990). He began his work in the exile Tibetan community as a part-time teacher/student at the first Tibetan refugee school in Mussoorie in 1960. In 1967 he joined the Education Office of the Tibetan government in exile as a secretary and translator. In 1968 he teamed up with his brother Tenzin Geyche and a friend Sonam Topgyal, to start Sheja Magazine, an educational publication, one of the first Tibetan non-governmental initiatives in India. Two years later, as one of four conveners of the first Tibetan Youth Conference, which resulted in the formation of the Tibetan Youth Congress, he served in its first leadership executive committee. During this period he also served as Editor of Tibetan Review succeeding Tendzin N. Takla when the paper moved from Darjeeling to Dharmsala. During his tenure in New York he established The Tibet Fund and Potala Publications as part of the Office of Tibet, and played a key role in the formation of several Tibetan initiatives in the U.S. and Canada among which are the U.S. Tibet Committee, the Tibetan Association of New York and New Jersey, and Tibet House – New York. In 1980 he headed the Second Delegation of Tibetan exiles sent by the Tibetan government to tour Tibet and China. When he was transferred as Special Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Washington, D.C. he established the International Campaign for Tibet which helped secure greater understanding and support for Tibet, including U.S. refugee assistance, radio programs, scholarships, and immigration opportunities for 1,000 Tibetans to the United States. In 1990 he was one of the first Kalons elected – one of three – by a special Congress of Tibetan exiles in Dharmsala, and served in various portfolios which include Finance, Home, International Relations, and as Kalon Tripa, serving for five years in Dharmsala. In 1995 he moved to California where, among his many activities, he was advisor to "Seven Years in Tibet", and joined the board of the Committee of 100 for Tibet. He is one of the founding members and current President of The Dalai Lama Foundation, an international organization dedicated to the promotion of peace and ethics. He also serves in an advisory capacity for the local Tibetan Community Center project, and recently launched "Tibet in Exile — Fifty Years", an online documentation effort to commemorate the last fifty years in exile of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people. 59-year-old Mr. Lobsang Jinpa la is a loyal and competent man with both modern and traditional education. He has served in the Tibetan Government-in-exile for approximately 34 years, and has a thorough understanding of the approach of H.H. the Dalai Lama. Mr. Lobsang Jinpa is from Kham Tsawa Rong of Tibet. He completed his B.A. from Punjab University, Chandigarh, after completing school from CST Mussoorie in 1973. He was actively involved with the regional branches of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) in Mussoorie, Chandigarh, and Dharamshala, and became President of TYC in 1977. After college, he joined the Central Tibetan Administration, serving in the Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Private Office, Member of Charitable Trust (Calcutta), and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Starting from 1980, he became the Secretary of the Department of Security, and after that was posted to Nepal as the Representative of H.H. the Dalai Lama. In 1980, he was also a delegation member during the second fact-finding visit to Tibet. Starting from 1993 till 2005, he worked as the Secretary to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is now retired. Mr. Penpa Tsering was born in 1967 in Bylakuppe, India. He now lives in Dharamshala, and is presently a speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. He studied at the Central School for Tibetans, Bylakuppe, and topped the merit list in Class XII. He graduated with Economics Major from Madras Christian College, Chennai. During his student days, he served as the General Secretary of both the Tibetan Freedom Movement and the Nigerian Tibet Friendship Association. He also served as the General Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of Dhomey. He served the Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre for seven years as executive director. He has been elected to the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Parliament in exile. His work experience includes running a private export enterprise and a restaurant Ngawa Tsegyam was born in 1964 in the Domed province of Tibet. He started going to school when he was seven, and finished high school from Ngawa public school in 1980. In 1983 he taught Tibetan language in Tibetan Primary school, and then became the vice principal of the school for a period of five years. In college he became the head of the student union and edited "Don tak" magazine. In 1988 he graduated from college in Chinese and Tibetan language. Then in 1989 he was arrested and imprisoned for separatist activities by the Chinese authorities. In 1990 for a period of six months he traveled to various places in Domed and Dotoe province to do research work on history and to collect information about the places. He came into exile in India in 1992. Tsegyam stood first in the 1993 civil service examination of the Central Tibetan Administration, and was appointed as the Joint Secretary in the Tibetan Research Section of the Department of Security of the CTA. In 1995 he was promoted and became the Head of the Research Deparment, and three years later was appointed as a member in the Tibet China Dialogue committee. In April 1999 he was appointed as the assistant of the Representative of His Holiness in Taiwan. While serving in Taiwan, he contributed and wrote articles in the leading journals and newspaper in Hongkong and Taiwan. In 2003 he was appointed as the Representative of His Holiness in Taiwan. In May 2008 he was awarded a prize by the Taiwan External Ministry for his special role in strengthening the ties between Tibet and Taiwan. At the end of May 2008, Ngawa Tsegyam was transferred to the Private Office as the Private Secretary to His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama. Mrs. Gyari Dolma finished her schooling from Central Schools for Tibetans, Darjeeling, before joining Punjab University from where she graduated with honors in Political Science. She took active part in Tibetan political movements in Delhi. Her door to the Tibetan Political stage was opened by the election to the 11th Assembly, for which she won a seat from Dotoe in 1991. She was elected for the second time in the 12th assembly. The people of Dotoe elected her for the third time to the 13th assembly, of which she was the vice chairperson, thus making her the first lady in Tibet's community. Currently, she is the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies Academic Achievement: Phurbu Dorjee did his Masters in International Legal Studies from Washington College of Law, American University. In India, he has his Bachelors of Academic Law and Bachelor of Law (J.D. equivalent) from Mangalore University. Experience and Service: During the prime of his life, Phurbu Dorjee served in the Tibetan Exile Government for 10 years. He was the first legal facilitator (Sherpang) of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission, an apex body of the Tibetan judiciary branch of the Tibetan Government in Exile, Dharamsala, India. The Sherpang position is equivalent to that of the General Secretary of Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission. After completing his Fulbright program in the US, he was appointed as the Justice Commissioner for the Tibetan Local Justice Commission, Mysore, India, from May 2002-Nov 2004. During his tenure, he successfully constructed the Justice Commission Building (Court House). Prior to obtaining his masters degree, he also served as a member of the Internal Rules Drafting Committee of Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission, and drafted the Exile Tibetan Justice Rules, Rules of Civil Procedure and Rules of Evidence. Currently, Mr. Phurbu serves as the Vice President of the Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey. Ever since his school days, he has been involved in various activities for the Tibetan cause. He appeared in numerous Indian newspapers including the Times of India, which described him as "Tibetan crusader". Last year in the Washington Post, he appealed to the United States to fight for human rights and freedom for Tibet. He appeared at least three times on Manhattan channel 34, NY, and talked about the international need to address the Tibet situation before it is too late. Education: Kalsang Phuntsok Godrukpa did his Masters in Economics from Punjab University, Chandigarh, and completed his post-graduate studies in Business Management with an MBM Degree from Kurukshetra University, Haryana, India. Experience and service: After having served as treasurer of RTYC Darjeeling from 1970-80, he held the post of cashier of RTYC and President of TFM, Chandigarh, from 1981-83. He was the President of RTYC Kathmandu from 1999-2001. In the XIIth GBM of TYC, recognizing his leadership skills, he was re-elected to the post of President in 2004. Currently, he is a full time social worker in Dharamsala, putting others before self. Practical achievement: Kalsang Phuntsok was a founding member of Songtsen Birjuti Samajic and Sanskritic Sewa Sangh based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is perhaps the most inspiring speaker of our times. He is a born leader who is young, energetic, patriotic, modern, and thoroughly educated. He has the guts to speak his mind despite pressures from hell or heaven, and puts practical effort for the freedom and democracy of our people and nation. Mr. Thupten Lungrig was born in Amdo Rebkong, Tibet, in 1957. He attended the Central School for Tibetans in Dalhousie. In 1981, he obtained his Masters or "Acharya" Degree from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Varanasi, India. Mr. Lungrig has served the Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) for 15 years in various capacities. First he served as a teacher at the Tibetan Children's Village School (TCV) in Dharamshala. He then was promoted as Principal of TCV School, Suja in 1991. Later in 1993, Mr. Lungrig also became its Director. In 1996, Mr. Lungrig was one of the three members who were appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the 12th Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (ATPD). The ATPD unanimously elected him as Deputy Speaker of the House (then referred to as Vice-Chair). In 2001 he was elected to the 13th ATPD or Tibetan Parliament-in-exile from the Dhomey constituency (Amdo province). He was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Parliament-in-exile. In September 2001, Mr. Lungrig was nominated by the first directly-elected Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, as a member of the 12th Kashag. During his term as Kalon, Mr. Lungrig held the joint portfolios of, first, the Department of Religion & Culture and the Department of Education, and later, the joint portfolios of the Departments of Health and Education. In September 2006, Mr. Lungrig was again nominated as a member of the 13th Kashag by Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche. He is currently serving as the Kalon of the Department of Education. Tempa Tsering was born on May 15, 1950 in Tibet. After the invasion of the Chinese forces in Tibet in 1950, he and his family escaped into exile in India. An alumnus of Dr. Grahams Homes, Kalimpong, he graduated with B.Sc. from Madras Christian College. He was elected as the member of the Central Executive Committee of the Tibetan Youth Congress and later, became its advisor. In 1973, he joined the Tibetan civil service with the Central Tibetan Administration. Tempa was elected as a Kalon (Minister) by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in the year 2000. He held the portfolio of Kalon for the Department of Home, until the term of the 11th Kashag (Cabinet) expired in 2001. In 2006, he was once again nominated as Kalon by Hon. Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche and later approved by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. Currently, Tempa Tsering is a Kalon and Chief Representative of the Dalai Lama in New Delhi. Withdrawal of Mr. Lobsang Nyandak. Mr. Lobsang Nyandak was born in Kalimpong, India, in 1965. From 1990 to 1995, he served as the Secretary and Joint Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress. Mr. Nyandak was the Director of Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), an NGO based in Dharamshala. In 1996, just as he started working for TCHRD, he was elected to the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies to represent the Kham province. He held this post till 2001. During the same period, Mr. Nyandak served as the Vice-president/Secretary of the National Democratic Party of Tibet. During his tenure as the Kalon for Finance, he was able to, for the first time, introduce a surplus budget. Presently he is the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the USA. Ghang Lhamo was born in the Dayab District of eastern Tibet. She finished her studies from Tibetan People's school. In 1989 she took part in a peaceful demonstration by Higher Education Students against Chinese rule. She was arrested by Chinese security, accused of pasting a wall poster. While in prison at Taktse, she was interrogated and tortured. Later she was moved to Gutsa prison for three years, enduring hard labour and brain-wash lessons. After her health deteriorated, the Chinese secret agent managed to transfer her to Lhasa, where she served a few years as the in-charge of a school for orphans in Choshor, Lhasa. Lhamo escaped to India in 2002 and got an opportunity to inform His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama of the situation in Tibet. Later she was able to speak to BBC and other media of the sufferings she had undergone in the hands of the Chinese. Currently, Lhamo works in Khawa Karpo Tibetan Cultural preservation organisation as Editor/Reporter and writer in Chinese for the Tibetan newspaper Bangchen. Lhamo wrote a book Gangri Chutik about the Tibetan situation, which was published in 2004 with funds from the Deptt. Of Security of the Tibetan Government in Exile. Another book in Chinese was published in HongKong this year with the help of Chinese dissidents living in the US. On request from friends, she wrote another book this year titled Chol Sum Chokdrig, with a grant from the Foundation of Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, based in Delhi. Lhamo writes in Tibetan and Chinese. Her Chinese work can be seen on www.laogai.org Mrs. Jetsun Pema was born in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, on July 7, 1940. She came to India in 1950 and studied first at St. Joseph's Convent in Kalimpong and later at Loreto Convent in Darjeeling from where she completed her Senior Cambridge in 1960. In 1961, she went to Switzerland and then to England to do further studies. She returned to India in April 1964. In June 1964, she was directed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to take over the responsibility of running the Tibetan Children's Village in Dharamsala. Since then, she has been the moving force and mother of thousands of destitute and orphaned Tibetan children. The children call her "Ama La" (Respected Mother). With her dynamic leadership and untiring dedication, coupled with her sense of urgency and clarity of purpose, the Tibetan Children's Village has become one of the most successfully flourishing Tibetan institutions in exile. She became the President of the Tibetan Children's Villages in June 1964, and held that position until her retirement in August 2006. She held this position for more than 42 years, dedicating her life to educating Tibetan children in exile. Rinchen Khando Cheogyal was born in Tibet and has lived in exile since the 1960's. She is the wife of Tendzin Choegyal and has dedicated herself to the Tibetan cause. Travelling throughout the world, she has advocated the preservation of the Tibetan culture. She has helped exiled Tibetans by focusing on education, improving conditions for the elderly and the poor, and in the development of religious studies for women. While president of the The Tibetan Women's Association she founded the Tibetan Nuns Project which has built nunneries to provide education and take care of nuns who have escaped from Tibet. She also had two terms as the Minister of Education in the Exile Government. She is dedicated to giving practical help to the exile community and has a determination to do what she can Dr. B Tsering Yeshi earned a PhD from the University of Virginia. She served as the president of Tibetan Women's Association for two consecutive terms from the year 2003-2009. As the president of TWA she bought TWA to new leadership heights. She represented Tibetan Women at numerous international conferences and even made an oral statement at the 61st Session on the UNHCR in 2005. She served as the member of the steering committee of International Tibet Support Network (ITSN) from 2005 to 2008 and was on the board of advisors for Tibetan National Sports Association (TNSA), Tibetan Nuns Project (TNP) and Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). Dr. Lobsang Palden was born in Kham-Tehor in Tibet. As a small child he fled his homeland in 1959 with his parents when the Chinese took over power in Tibet. In Kalimpong he attended the St. Augustin School for nearly 2 years. After that, he joined the Central Tibetan School in Simla. At the very young age of 12, he left India for Germany with some other Tibetan children in 1963. After the successful completion of his undergraduate education, he studied medicine in the renowned University of Heidelberg. Following the completion of his medical education in 1979, he worked in different hospitals in Germany to gain a wide range of experience. Since 1989 he has been working in the Departement of Gastroenterology as a Senior Doctor in the State Hospital of Ludenscheid, which is affiliated with the University of Bonn. He married Choeni Lhamo in 1973. They have three children. Besides his work, Dr. Lobsang Palden has been very active in the Tibetan freedom movement ever since his childhood. He worked in different Tibetan organizations and was also the initiator of "Tibet Initiative Deutschland." Launched in 1989, the Initiative is now one of the largest political organizations in Europe, run by mostly German Friends: www.tibet-initiative.de . Additionally, he is a passionate songwriter, poet and singer. All the profits from his music are donated to Sherig Lhankhang, Tibetan Homes Foundation, and other social projects. In 1995 he started a project in Tibet — called Tadra — with his wife and some friends. They built two children's villages for orphans in Kham and Amdo. Some of these children are already attending colleges or studying medicine. In 2008 he handed over the project to promote local responsibility. Finally, for the last 14 years he has become a frequent contact person for interviews of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America (VOA) on the field of medicine and often on subjects of philosophy and natural science. Thus he is truly a multi-talented and highly accomplished individual. Yeshi Thupten Jhar Khangsar was born in the year 1959 at Lhokha Nedong Tsong Tsethang, Tibet. During Cultural Revolution, both the government and society failed to take their responsibility for right to education. As a result he was brought up as a farmer and spent his early childhood days as a nomad. Later on he suffered under Chinese and was put in forced labor till 1982. From 1983 onwards, he travelled to villages and cities, where he had worked in various fields. He worked as a chief in charge of the Tsawa Khadruk Jampa Mingyur Tsuglak Khang as Supervisor, Manager cum accountant from 1987 to 1989. He has studied Science of Mechanical/Technical Art and made many model statues of Gods and Goddesses and completed the Astrological works in 1989. For eight years from 1997 to 2004, he filed numerous cases in different Chinese courts in Tibet. He knows very well about the laws in Tibet and is capable of filing the cases, familiar with the procedures and doing the research works on Policy analysis. He came to exile in December 2004. He joined Tibetan College of Higher Tibetan Studies Sarah from 2005 onwards for three years and studied about Tibetan religion, history, poetry and grammar. He joined Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission from 2008 and is serving till date. Since 2008, he has been writing number of essays on Chinese Constitution and doing a research on the Chinese Constitution to bridge the relationship between China and Tibet under the Chinese Constitutional framework. Lodi G Gyari was born in Nyarong, Eastern Tibet, in 1949, where he received a traditional monastic education. Mr. Gyari and his family fled from Tibet to India in 1959. Realizing that Tibetans need to publicize their struggle to the world he became an editor for the Tibetan Freedom Press and founded the Tibetan Review, the first English language journal published by Tibetans in-exile. Mr. Gyari was one of the founding members of the Tibetan Youth Congress, an organization of over 10,000 members. He served as President of the Congress in 1975. Mr. Gyari was elected to the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies, the Tibetan Parliament in exile, and subsequently became its Chairman. He then served as Deputy Cabinet Minister with resposibilities for the Council for Religious Affairs and the Department of Health. In 1988 he became Senior Cabinet Minister for the Department of Information and International Relations (Foreign Ministry.) Currently he is the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Mr. Gyari is the lead person designated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to commence negotiations with the Chinese Government. Mr. Gyari is also the Executive Chairman of the Board of the International Campaign for Tibet, an independent Washington based human rights advocacy group. Mr. Pema Jungney was born in 1959 at Ruthog Jangtod, Tibet. He now lives in Dharamsala, H.P, India. He has Shastri, Acharya and B.Ed degree from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath. He worked as a teacher at the Sakya Center, Rajpur and the New Tibetan School at bir. He was earlier elected to the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th ATPD (Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputy. He was unanimously elected as the chairman of the 13th ATPD. Kalon Chope Paljor Tsering is defined by his devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his unquestionable dedication to the Tibetan cause. As can be read in his book 'The Nature of All Things', to this end, he has dedicated his entire adult life: as a teacher and headmaster in Pokhara, Nepal; a young settlement-in-charge in Dhorpaten, one of the most remote Tibetan settlements in western Nepal; through various capacities within the Department of Education - including being the architect behind the establishment of the successful Tibetan government education system in Nepal; as well as serving as the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama continually for over two decades in Nepal, Europe, Australia and Japan. During this time he has met with many world leaders, politicians and statesmen and has continually raised awareness of and support for the Tibetan people and our cause. Since 2007, he has served as the Health Kalon in the Tibetan Government, being unopposed and unanimously endorsed by the Tibetan Parliament. Kalon Chope Paljor Tsering was born in Tibet. As a child he faced tremendous hardship including starvation and the loss of both his parents as well as his siblings after his family’s escape into exile from the Chinese occupation. While still a child, his courage as an individual and his determination to lead a meaningful life dedicated to the Tibetan cause gave him the strength to not only survive through these difficult early times but to excel in his studies which culminated in a scholarship to study in England. Since completing his studies in England in 1970 and returning to the exile Tibetan community in India and Nepal to serve His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, Kalon Chope Paljor Tsering has been a unifying figure of unquestionable integrity and principles. He is an inspirational leader with a proven track record of complete dedication, farsighted judgment and unshakeable pride in the Tibetan people’s heritage and identity. 56 years old Nyima Samkar was born in Ruchang, Ngari, Tibet and escaped to exile in 195. Samkar studied at Tibetan Homes Foundation and earned his B.A. from Punjab University, Chandigarh in 1973. An active Tibetan Youth Congress member, he served as PRO of RTYC Chandigarh during his college studies. In 1977, Samkar joined Tibetan Administrative Service and served as Welfare Officer in Herbertpur and established Tibetan schools at Lakhanwala and Khera Tibetan camps funded by TYC which were later handed over to Department of Education of the Tibetan Government in exile. In 1998 as a Deputy Secretary he got an opportunity to visit all the Tibetans in the Kingdom of Nepal along with General Secretary and Additional Secretary of Department homes it provided him good experience and learning more about the living situations of Tibetans in Nepal. In June 1998 he was appointed as the general Secretary of Office of Tibet, Nepal and also took the responsibilities of Walung Settlement till July 1999. In February 1999 he was promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary and made the same post in the 0ffice of Tibet till his transfer to finance Department in January 2000. There he worked as Joint Secretary of Finance Department. In July 2000 he was transferred to Planning Commission as a Joint Secretary worked till his retransfer to Nepal, Kathmandu in March 2003. While working in Planning Commission he got training in Demographic Survey and population census with this experience he was one of the team members who conducted Demographic sample survey in 14 Tibetan settlements related to Demographic and Socio- Economic Issues Tibetan Community in Exile 1998-2001. In March 2003 he was appointed as disinvestment managers of few carpets trading companies like CTC, Gangchen Carpet and Gaden extra. Tibetan Government in exile had also entrusted to look after Tibetan Settlement in Rasuwa and Boudha Handicraft Centre. In august 2004 He was reappointed as welfare 0fficer of Chailsa in Solu Khumbhu district, Walung Sampheling, in Taplejung District and Gey Gayling in Rasuwa districts. These Tibetan Settlements were situated in remote areas of most backward regions of Nepal where he sincerely and worked enthusiastically for the poor Settlers. In 2005 he was trained in Tibetan law and its proceedings and prosecution. Promote to the additional Secretary on 16th June 2008. He is still serving as ShaWaRa settlement 0fficer in Kathmandu, Nepal. Dr. Kunchok Tsundue has been the Chief Planning Officer of the Central Tibetan Administration since 2001 and has been an imperative member of the task force for Sino-Tibetan Dialogue since 2002. He was the Vice-president of the RTYC of Chandigarh from 1984-86 and has been an outstanding teacher to T.C.V. students in Dharamsala. Dr. Kunchok Tsundue completed his BA (Hons) and M.A. at Chandigarh and was awarded a scholarship to study in Germany. He successfully completed his PhD in geoscience from Ruhr University in Germany where he published his thesis on the changes and continuity of agriculture of Tibet. Having undertaken extensive research, Dr. Kunchok Tsundue has published numerous books and articles about Tibet for many leading universities around the world such as Harvard University and Ruhr University in Germany; he has also given presentations across the world from Bangkok to Townsville in Australia on Tibet and the agriculture in Tibet in particular. Dr. Tsundue has had the rare experience of performing field research in Tibet which puts him in the unique position among us in exile to genuinely understand the plight of the Tibetan people inside Tibet from a more intimate perspective. He is among the exceptional few in the generation born in exile who has received a world class modern education but who also has in depth traditional knowledge of our culture. It is evident from the course of his life that he is a youthful man with proven leadership skills. He has served the Tibetan people diligently in every position he has held and has studied and worked hard throughout his life for the sole purpose of being able to better serve the Tibetan cause. Mr. Ngodup Dongchung was born on 31 December 1956 at Surtso, a small village in Nyanang County, Tibet. After escaping into exile with his parents, he received his primay school education at the Namche day school of Delekling settlement, Solokhumbu, Nepal. He jointed the Central School for Tibetans, Dalhousie, in April 1964. After finishing school in 1973 he joined Jamjas College. Delhi University, and earned his BA (Hons) degree in Political Science in 1977. He joined the Tibetan government-in-exile service as an assistant Office Secretary at the Department of Security on 15 June 1977 and became a full fledged official on 1 September 1978. He was later promoted as Additional Secretary in July 1991 and took charge as the Department's Acting Secretary in November that year. He was promoted as the Department's Secretary in April 1993 and continued to serve in that capacity till 11 December 2001. After that he remained Secretary for Security when a second Secretary post was introduced for the Department as policy decision. On 4 October 2007, Mr. Ngodup Donchung was nominated, and approved by the 14th TPIE, as a Kalon. Tashi Namgyal Khamshitsang was born in Tibet. He arrived in Nepal in 1960 at an early age of six. He came to India in 1964 and joined Central School for Tibetans at Panchmarhi. He finished Higher Secondary School in 1972 as the first batch from CST Pachmarhi. After finishing school, he joined the Tibetan government services in 1973 and served until 1999 in various capacities including Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Nepal. He was among the first batch to join SFF to do voluntary military training. He also served two terms as the General Secretary of Tibetan Youth COngress, the largest organization of Tibetans in Exile. He has been living in Seattle with his wife and three children family after his early retirement in 1999. But despite his retirement he has actively served towards the Tibetan cause as the President of Tibetan Association, Seattle from 2004-2009. He was the chairman of the long life celebration committee for His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2008, which successfully conducted the largest gathering of Tibetans in North America to offer long life prayer to His Holiness the Dalai Lama Mr. T.T. Karma Chophel (born 1949, Labrang Kosa, Tradun, Tibet) lives in Dharamsala. He has a B.A. (Hons.) from Delhi University and B.Ed from Bangalore University. He served as a teacher at CST Bylakuppe from 1975 to 1980. He was selected as Rector and served at CST Shimla and Mussoorie from 1981-89. While in the education service, served for two consecutive terms from 1977-83 and 1986-89 in the Central Executive Committee of the Tibetan Youth Congress mostly as Vice President and became the President in 1982-83. He was the founder-President of the first Tibetan political party - National Democratic Party of Tibet (NDPT) in 1994 and organized a Fast-Unto-Death protest in front of the UNO in New York in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the world body. He was also elected as the Chairman (Speaker) of the 13th ATPD and served from September, 2001 to March 2002. He was elected to the Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth. Exile Prime Minister's election 2011. Visiting president of our Exile parliament Mr Penpa Tsering la, On the 5th of June, We organize a meeting in "WOK" Antwerp, beginning at 1:30pm until 5:00pm with Tibetans and supporters. To discuss about our next Exile Prime Minister's election 2011. During that time every individual has the opportunity to ask questions. So don't miss that day.