Dharamshala: Secretary Karma Choeying, formerly serving as Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations, has assumed office as the new Secretary of the Department of Education under the Central Tibetan Administration.

A brief handover ceremony was held at the Department of Education to mark the transition of responsibilities between the outgoing Secretary, Jigme Namgyal Namgyalkhang, and the incoming Secretary, Karma Choeying. The ceremony was formally witnessed by Secretary Karma Rinchen of the Department of Information and International Relations, representing the Kashag.

During the proceedings, the outgoing Secretary officially transferred the Department’s records, documents, and inventory to the incoming Secretary, while also conveying his congratulations and best wishes for a successful tenure.

Following the completion of the handover process, the Department’s Kalon, Ugyen Tenzin, together with staff members, offered ceremonial scarves to both the outgoing and incoming Secretaries as a mark of respect and appreciation.

Secretary Karma Choeying, Department of Education, Central Tibetan Administration

Brief Bio of Secretary Karma Choeying

Secretary Karma Choeying was born in Ladakh to the late Dawa Dhondup and Sonam Noryang on 7 March 1974. He attended the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) School in Ladakh and completed his Class XII education at Upper TCV in 1992. In 1995, he graduated with a degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi.

Following a brief stint as a part-time teacher at TCV Suja in early 1996, he joined the Central Tibetan Administration in September 1996 as an Under Secretary.

His initial posting was at Dekyiling Tibetan Settlement in Dehradun, where he served for nearly two years. He was subsequently transferred to Rabgayling Tibetan Settlement in Hunsur as Co-operative Secretary and was later promoted to Deputy Secretary. From 2001 to 2008, he served as the Tibetan Welfare Officer in Kalimpong and later in Darjeeling.

In 2008, he was transferred to the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), and a year later he was promoted to Joint Secretary. From 2009 onward, he served as Secretary of the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi until his promotion to Additional Secretary. In 2015, he was appointed Secretary of the Bureau du Tibet in Brussels. The following year, he was transferred to the Department of Home. In 2019, he returned to the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi, where he served until his promotion to the rank of Secretary.

On 17 October 2019, a day after his promotion, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations, a position he held for more than six and a half years. On 15 June 2026, he assumed charge as Secretary of the Department of Education.

Secretary Karma Choeying is also an alumnus of the University of San Francisco. In 2007, he was awarded the Tibetan Scholarship Program and undertook a one-year academic program at the University.