Tibetan Government in Exile

One of the first actions that His Holiness the Dalai Lama took when he escaped to India was to reconstitute the government of Tibet. On April 29, 1959, he established the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), which has been located in Dharamsala, India since May 1960. Under the Dalai Lama’s leadership, the CTA is the sole representative of the Tibetan people. The CTA’s goals are two-fold: to administer and govern the refugee community, and to work toward restoring freedom in Tibet. Unique to the Tibetan exile government is the Dalai Lama’s leadership in transitioning to a democratic form of governance.

With the Dalai Lama as the head of state, the CTA consists of the Kashag, or Council of Ministers, headed by the Kalon Tripa, and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, 43 members of which are democratically elected and 3 of which are appointed by the Dalai Lama. The Kalon Tripa is directly elected for a term of five years by members of the exile Tibetan community. The CTA governs according to The Charter of the Tibetans in Exile and includes an independent judiciary, the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission.

The CTA Departments of Religion and Culture, Health, Home, Education, Finance Security, and Information and International Relations are responsible for the rehabilitation of newly arrived refugees, sustaining a cohesive and self-reliant exile community, managing the CTA’s international affairs and fostering political, human rights and environmental consciousness among the Tibetans.

The exile government has offices in eleven countries around the world: Brussels, Canberra, Geneva, Kathmandu, London, Moscow, New Delhi, New York, Pretoria, Taipei, and Tokyo.

In their 50 years of exile, Tibetans have produced a healthy, flourishing democracy focused on both day-to-day community administration and political action for Tibet.