DHARAMSHALA: Tibet’s spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, has been chosen by the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine in its list of the 500 most powerful people on the planet.

“Is it possible to identify the 500 most powerful individuals on the planet — one in 14 million? That’s what we tried to do with the inaugural FP Power Map, our inventory of the people who control the commanding heights of the industries that run the world, from politics to high finance, media to energy, warfare to religion,” Foreign Policy said in a statement.

In 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama found a place in TIME magazine’s top 25 political icons. TIME’s citation said: “To people around the world, Tenzin Gyatso is not only the greatest and most public advocate for Tibetan rights and the virtues of Tibetan Buddhism, but for interfaith tolerance and peace as well. For decades — and from exile since 1959 — he has worked to resolve tensions between Tibet and the People’s Republic of China. And like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. before him, the Dalai Lama done so in a manner defined by nonviolence and tolerance. In 1989, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. The Dalai Lama’s humility has endeared him to presidents and religious leaders of several countries, affording him the opportunity to raise awareness and drum up support for Tibet on a global scale.”

His Holiness was also listed among the world’s 100 most influential people and as one of five Asian heroes 60 years in 2008 and 2006 respectively.