Sikyong

The Sikyong (Tibetan: སྲིད་སྐྱོང༌, Wylie: srid-skyong, Lhasa dialect: [ˈsícóŋ] ) is the head of the Central Tibetan Administration, a Tibetan exile organisation also known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. The title was created in 2012. On April 26, 2017, internal circular from Kashag announced that Sikyong would be rendered in English as 'President' of the Central Tibetan Administration[1]

Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration སྲིད་སྐྱོང༌
"Truth in Love"
Incumbent Lobsang Sangay
Style	His Excellency
Residence	Kashag Dharamsala, India
Appointer	Direct popular vote
Term length	Five years
Formation	1907 as Kalön Tripa of Tibet 8 August 2011 Sikyong
First holder	Chankhyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya
Website	www.tibet.net

The current Sikyong is Lobsang Sangay. The Sikyong is the head of the Kashag or Cabinet, part of the executive branch of the Central Tibetan Administration. This office should not be confused with the "Chairman of the Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region".[2]

The first directly elected Kalön Tripa was Lobsang Tenzin, the Samdhong Rinpoche, who was elected August 20, 2001.[3]

Before 2011, the Kalön Tripa position was subordinate to the 14th Dalai Lama[4] who presided over the government in exile from its founding.[5] In August of that year, Lobsang Sangay polled 55 per cent votes out of 49,189, defeating his nearest rival Tethong Tenzin Namgyal by 8,646 votes, becoming the second popularly elected Kalon Tripa. The Dalai Lama announced that his political authority would be transferred to Sangay while remaining as spiritual leader and figurehead of the CTA.[6]

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.[7] 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", as distinct from "spiritual leader".[8] Foreign affairs Kalon Dicki Chhoyang claimed that the term "Sikyong" has had a precedent dating back to the 7th Dalai Lama, and that the name change "ensures historical continuity and legitimacy of the traditional leadership from the fifth Dalai Lama".[9] The online Dharma Dictionary translates sikyong (srid skyong) as "secular ruler; regime, regent". The title sikyong had previously been used by regents who ruled Tibet during the Dalai Lama's minority. It is also used in Tibetan to refer to the governors of the states of the United States.

List of Kalön Tripas and Sikyongs

Tibet
#	Name		Took Office	Left Office	Monarch
1	Chankhyim Trekhang Thupten Shakya		1907	1920	Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso (1879 – 1933)
2	Paljor Dorje Shatra		1907	1923
3	Sholkhang Dhondup Phuntsog		1907	1926
4	Langdun Kunga Wangchuk		1926	1940
5	Lobsang Tashi		1950	1952
	Lukhangwa Tsewang Rabden		1950	1952	Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (reigned in Tibet 1937 – 1950; 1937 onwards as Dalai Lama)
Central Tibetan Administration — Kalön Tripa
#	Name		Took Office	Left Office	Monarch
1	Jangsa Tsangy		1959	1960	Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (reigned in exile 1950 – 2011; 1937 onwards as Dalai Lama)
2	Surkhang Wangchen Gelek		1960	1964
3	Gyurme Sonam Topgyal		1965	1970
4	Garang Lobsang Rigzin		1970	1975
5	Kunling Woeser Gyaltsen		1975	1980
6	Wangdue Dorjee		1980	1985
7	Juchen Thupten Namgyal		1985	1990
8	Kalsang Yeshi		1990	1991
9	Gyalo Thondup		1991	1993
10	Tenzin Tethong		1993	1996
11	Sonam Topgyal		1996	2001
12	Lobsang Tenzin		2001	2011
13	Lobsang Sangay		2011	2012
Central Tibetan Administration — Sikyong
#	Name		Took Office	Left Office	Head of State
13	Lobsang Sangay		2012	Present	Himself

References

1. "President Is the English Title for Sikyong". Central Tibetan Administration. May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
2. 西藏自治区人民政府主席
3. 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.)
4. The Charter of Tibetans in-Exile, Article 20 of the Constitution of Tibet, retrieved 2010-03-19.
5. The Charter of Tibetans in-Exile, Articles 19, 30, & 31 of the Constitution of Tibet, retrieved 2010-03-19.
6. Dean Nelson Lobsang Sangay: profile, The Telegraph, 08 Aug 2011
7. Tibetan Parliament changes 'Kalon Tripa' to 'Sikyong'
8. "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.
9. "International Support Groups Meet in Dharamsala to Deal with Critical Situation In Tibet". Central Tibetan Administration. 2012-11-16.

External links

Speech/transcription

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

See also

• 2021 Central Tibetan Administration general election

Elections

• Kalon Tripa election in 2011
• Kalön Tripa 2011 election results