Thursday, February 6, 2025

March 10, 2011

Dalai Lama To Retire As Tibetan Leader In Exile

In a press conference in Dharamsala, India, His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced that he'd be stepping down as political leader of the Tibetan government in exile, to make way for an elected representative. He will be retaining his position as Tibet's spiritual leader.

In a press conference in Dharamsala, India, HH the Dalai Lama announced that he’d be stepping down as political leader of the Tibetan government in exile, to make way for an elected representative. He will be retaining his position as Tibet’s spiritual leader.

By all accounts this is good, and unsurprising; in recent years, the government in exile has been moving away from appointment of official positions by prior designation and towards appointment by popular election.

The Dalai Lama said as much in a prepared speech:

“As early as the 1960s, I have repeatedly stressed that Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power..Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect.”

Hipster pseudo-Buddhists remain unaffected.

[NYTimes]