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news
worldnews
asia
tibet
8476717
-----
# Harvard academic elected Tibet's first non-Lama political leader
## A Harvard academic and law expert has been elected as Tibet's political
leader, becoming the first non 'reincarnated' Lama to carry out the role.
![Harvard academic elected Tibet's first non-Lama political leader ][1]
Lobsang Sangey Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
[![Dean Nelson][2]][3]
By [Dean Nelson][4], New Delhi 4:16PM BST 27 Apr 2011
[Follow Dean Nelson on Twitter][5]
Lobsang Sangay's election, with 55 per cent of the votes cast by
**[Tibetans][6]** around the world, follows the Dalai Lama's announcement of
his plans to retire earlier this year and his determination to avoid creating
a leadership vacuum. He had feared China would exploit his future death and
seek to impose a pro-Beijing leadership on Tibetan Buddhists.
The 43-year-old will be the first Tibetan 'Kalon Tripa' or prime minister to
have been raised in India. According to China and Tibet analysts, he will
share the leadership of the Tibetan exiles with the Karmapa Lama, who will
replace the Dalai Lama as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism following
his death.
Mr Sangay was raised in Darjeeling, the former British colonial hill station,
and has worked as a fellow at Harvard Law School for the last 15 years.
He is seen as a follower of the Dalai Lama's pursuit of "meaningful autonomy"
for Tibet within a Chinese state, but some suspect he may have more radical
ambitions as a former member of the pro-Independence Tibetan Youth Congress.
Mohan Guruswamy, director of New Delhi's Centre for Policy Alternatives, said
the election of Mr Sangay and the rise of the Karmapa Lama marked a division
of the two roles, both of which have until now been carried out by the Dalai
Lama. It is also an attempt to counter Chinese claims that the Tibetan exiles
favour a return to feudal rule by Buddhist lamas.
## Related Articles
* [Buddha's birthday][7]
17 May 2011
* [Dalai Lama pleads with Tibetan MPs to let him step down][8]
14 Mar 2011
* [The Dalai Lama's battle with China][9]
10 Mar 2011
* [Dalai Lama moves to avoid Chinese interference in succession][10]
10 Mar 2011
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10 Mar 2011
* [Dalai Lama: Q&A][12]
10 Mar 2011
"The Dalai Lama is trying to give the Tibetans a modernity and to challenge
Chinese claims that the Tibetans want to re-establish the old feudal system.
He wants to say 'actually we've liberated the Tibetans.'
"The Karmapa Lama will provide the spiritual leadership which is essential to
Tibetan identity. For the first time the Kagyu sect will have leadership,
which will bring all the sects together. It's a move for modernisation and
democratisation."
The Dalai Lama had been concerned that if Tibetans waited for his
reincarnation to be born and trained for leadership, his people would be
without leadership for three decades.
Mr Sangay, who will move to Dharamsala to serve as prime minister, called for
the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet and an end to the suffering of Tibetans
living under Chinese rule.
"I urge every Tibetan and friends of Tibet to join me in the common cause to
alleviate the suffering of Tibetans in our occupied Tibet and to return His
Holiness, the Dalai Lama, to his rightful place in the Potala Palace," he
said.
Outgoing prime minister Lobsang Tenzing, the reincarnated lama Sandhong
Rinpoche, welcomed his successor's election.
"Our democracy is mature enough to handle this change. It's a significant
change from old to new, from a monk to a lay person, from older to young, and
from traditional to modern," he said.
It is not clear when the Dalai Lama, 75, will relinquish his figurehead roles
which he has held since 1950 when he was 15 years old.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/8476717/Harvard-academic-
elected-Tibets-first-non-Lama-political-leader.html
Telegraph
## [Tibet][18]
* ### [News »][19]
* ### [World News »][20]
* ### [Asia »][21]
* ### [Dean Nelson »][3]
In news
[![August 4, 2009 shows exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama during
a press conference near Lausanne, Switzerland][22] ][23]
### [The Dalai Lama in pictures][23]
[![Protests around the world to mark the anniversary of a failed uprising
against China in Tibet][24] ][25]
### [Exiled Tibetans protest][25]
[![ The Dalai Lama ][26] ][27]
### [Dalai Lama's 75th birthday][27]
[![Inside Hamas][28] ][29]
### [Undercover cameras][29]
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