Profiles of Incumbent Kalons of Sixteenth Kashag
Sikyong Penpa Tsering
Sikyong Penpa Tsering was born in 1967 at Bylakuppee, south India. He studied at the Central School for Tibetans, Bylakuppe and topped the merit list in Class XII. He graduated with Economics Major from the Madras Christian College, Chennai. His work experience includes running a private export enterprise and a restaurant.
During his student days, he served as the General Secretary of the Tibetan Freedom Movement and Nigerian-Tibet Friendship Association. Later he served as the General Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of Do-mey. He then worked as the Executive Director at the Tibetan Parliamentary and Research Centre (TPPRC) in New Delhi from 2001-2008 before being sworn in as the speaker of the 14th parliament in 2008.
He was earlier elected to the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth Tibetan Parliament-in-exile. He was elected as the Speaker of the fourteenth Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile with Mr Karma Choephel on 31 May 2006. He got re-elected to the Fifteenth Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile again with Speaker’s post in 2011. From 2016 -2017, he served as the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Office of Tibet, Washington DC.
After his electoral victory in 2021, he was sworn into office on 27 May 2021 as the Sikyong of the 16th Kashag. During his five-year tenure, he also served as the Kalon of four departments: the Department of Religion and Culture, the Department of Home, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Health.
He was re-elected as Sikyong for the 17th Kashag in the 2025–26 Tibetan general election after securing 61.025 percent of the total votes in the preliminary round. Under a provision of the Election Rules and Regulations that exempted him from contesting the final round, he was elected as the sixth directly elected Sikyong (formerly known as Kalon Tripa).
Kalon Tsegyal Chukya Dranyi (Department of Religion and Culture)
Tsegyal Chukya Dranyi was born on 2 February 1966 in Phari Chukya to Dranyi Pegyal and Yangkyi.
He completed Class 12 at CST Darjeeling in 1989 and subsequently pursued higher education at Darjeeling Government College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. During his college years, he also completed a ten-month English typewriting course.
While studying in Class 11 at CST Darjeeling, he received a Certificate of Merit from the Department of Education in recognition of his academic achievements. He also served as Boys’ Captain and represented the school’s local youth group.
He began his public service career in the Department of Education, where he served from 10 October 1991 to 30 September 1993. In 1993, he passed the competitive recruitment examination and was appointed to the Civil Service as an Under Secretary, subsequently being assigned to the Department of Health.
In 1997, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Secretary and continued his service in the same department. In 2000, he was transferred and appointed as Head of the Dalhousie Factory-cum-Settlement Officer. Subsequently, he was promoted to Joint Secretary in 2002 and transferred to the Department of Home. In 2004, he was transferred to the Department of Health and was appointed Director of the Ngoenga School for Tibetan Children with Special Needs in Dehradun.
In recognition of his exemplary service, he received the CTA’s Staff Excellence Awards in the Administration Category for the 2009–2010 fiscal year on 6 July 2009.
In 2010, he was promoted to the Additional Secretary and transferred to the Department of Health, where he was promoted to Secretary on 13 October 2014.
In 2016, he was transferred as Secretary of the Department of Religion and Culture. He returned to the Department of Health as Secretary later that year.
On 8 April 2019, he was transferred to the Kashag Secretariat as its Secretary and from 3 February 2020, he simultaneously served as Secretary of both Kashag and Department of Religion and Culture.
On 3 August 2021, he relinquished his responsibilities as Secretary of the Department of Religion and Culture and continued serving as Secretary of the Kashag. In addition, he has chaired eleven committees, including the Central Ghoton Organising Committee and Staff Transfer and Placement Committee.
He has completed a total of 35 years of public service at the Central Tibetan Administration until his appointment as the Kalon of the Department of Religion and Culture of the 17th Kashag.
Kalon Palden Dhondup (Department of Home)
Palden Dhondup was born on 6 July 1969 in Ladakh, India. He completed his schooling up to Class IX at TCV School, Ladakh. He subsequently pursued higher studies at the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi, where he earned Shastri and Acharya degrees.
During his college years, he actively participated in student and community affairs, serving as a member of the Sakya Welfare Committee, a member of the Students’ Welfare Committee, President of the Tibetan Children’s Village Alumni Association (TCVAA), and a member of the Regional Tibetan Freedom Movement.
Following a brief stint at Ngor Ewam Choden Monastery, where he served as a teacher and secretary, he formally joined the Central Tibetan Administration on 25 March 1996 after successfully clearing the staff recruitment examination for the post of Under Secretary. He was initially appointed as Assistant to the Settlement Officer of Kalimpong Tibetan Settlement and was later promoted to Deputy Secretary and appointed Settlement Officer of the settlement.
In 2001, he was transferred to Choephelling Tibetan Settlement in Miao, Arunachal Pradesh, as Settlement Officer.
From 2002 to 2006, he served as Settlement Officer of Phuntsokling Tibetan Settlement in Odisha. He was subsequently posted to Kunphenling Tibetan Settlement in Ravangla, Sikkim, where he served from 2006 to 2007. In 2007, he was appointed Settlement Officer of Darjeeling Tibetan Settlement.
On 26 February 2008, he was promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary and concurrently served as Settlement Officer of both the Darjeeling and Sonada Tibetan Settlements.
Later that year, he was appointed Settlement Officer of Doeguling Tibetan Settlement in Mundgod, Karnataka. In 2011, he was transferred to the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi. In 2013, he was appointed Joint Secretary in the Department of Home and was promoted to Additional Secretary in 2014.
From 2016 onwards, he served as Director of the Tibetan Administrative Training and Welfare Society (TAWS).
On 1 May 2019, he assumed office as Secretary of the Department of Health. Subsequently, on 11 October 2022, he took charge as Secretary of the Department of Home, a position he held until his appointment as Kalon of the Department of Home in the 17th Kashag during the First Session of the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
Kalon Tsering Dhondup Gyangser (Department of Finance)
Tsering Dhondup Gyangser was born in Shimla to Lobsang Samphel Gyalthung and Pema Choedon Shitsi.
From 1977 to 1981, he completed his pre-school education at the Tibetan School in Khara Pathar near Shimla. In 1980, he received the Student Excellence Award from the Department of Education. From 1981 to 1986, he completed his 10th grade at CST Shimla. In 1987, he enrolled in 11th grade at CST Dalhousie. To support his family and address personal matters, he worked in business for about four years. In 1992, he passed the 12th-grade examination privately through the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education. In 1996, he received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Himachal Pradesh University.
On 15 October 1996, he joined the civil service as a Junior Clerk and was assigned to the Department of Security. In 2000, he was promoted to the position of Under Secretary through examination.
In 2004, he was granted a two-year unpaid leave of absence. In 2006, upon returning from unpaid leave, he resumed duties at the Security Department. In 2011, he was transferred to the Bureau du Tibet in Paris as it Coordinator where he served for over five and a half years until 2017. Thereafter, he returned to the Security Department and, in June of the same year, was transferred to the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi. In 2018, he assumed the position of Secretary of the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi.
In May 2019, he was promoted to the position of Additional Secretary and transferred to the Tibetan Reception Center for newcomers in Dharamshala. In July 2021, he was transferred to the Security Department and then in September 2023, he was promoted to the position of Secretary.
Since then, he has been serving as Secretary of the Department of Finance. On 2 June 2026, he was elected as the Finance Kalon for 17th Kashag.
Kalon Ugyen Tenzin (Department of Education)
Ugyen Tenzin was born on 28 March 1964 in Gangtok to Penpa Tsering and Penpa Chungkyi. He completed his primary and secondary education at the Central School for Tibetans in Dalhousie and Darjeeling. After completing Grade 12, he was selected among the fifteen top-performing students by the Central Tibetan Schools Administration and awarded a scholarship for higher studies.
In 1985, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Government College for Men, Chandigarh, and later completed his Master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Mysore in 1992.
During his schooling at CST Darjeeling, Ugyen Tenzin served as an accountant of the Regional Tibetan Youth Association. During his college years in Chandigarh, he also worked as cashier for the Regional Tibetan Freedom Movement (BRDL). From 1991 to 1993, he served as Secretary of the Regional Tibetan Youth Association of Mundgod Doeguling. He was subsequently elected Vice Chair of the Local Tibetan Assembly of Mundgod (1994–1997) and later served as its Chairman (1997–2000).
He was elected as a Member of the 13th Tibetan Parliament in Exile (2001–2006), during which he served on the Standing Committee as well as on other parliamentary committees.
From 2005 to 2008, he served as Director of External Relations of the executive board of the U-tsang Cholkha Association, and from 2008 to 2011 he was an executive board member of the Global Tibetan People’s Movement for Middle Way Approach.
From 2008, he also served as Executive Director of the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). In this role, he engaged in research on the human rights situation in Tibet, advocated extensively through international media on deteriorating human rights situations inside Tibet, disseminated timely information on the 2008 widespread uprising, and raised awareness of the democratic system of the Tibetan exile community to the wider international community.
After his tenure at TCHRD, Ugyen Tenzin worked as a reporter with the Dharamshala-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) Tibetan Service and later served as its Bureau Chief over a total of nine years (2011–2021). Subsequently, he served as Bureau Chief of the Voice of America (VOA) Tibetan Service from 2021 to 2025.
On 2 June 2026, he was elected by members of the 18th Tibetan Parliament in Exile as a Kalon of the 17th Kashag and was assigned the portfolio of the Department of Education.
Kalon Kunga Tashi (Department of Security)
Kunga Tashi was born on 8 December 1963 in Lhasa, Tibet, to Thupten and Yangchen. He completed his primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary education in Lhasa. After graduating from senior secondary school in 1982, he came into exile the following year.
While in Tibet, he maintained contact with the Tibetan Administration in Exile. Upon arriving in Dharamshala, he was immediately assigned to the Research Section of the Department of Security (then known as the Hearing and Research Section), where he analysed and monitored developments inside Tibet. At the instruction of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he was also tasked with translating Chinese documents and newspapers collected by Phuntsok Tashi Takla into Tibetan.
On 1 June 1985, he was appointed as a Junior Clerk in the Department of Security and was promoted to Senior Clerk in 1991. He was subsequently promoted to Section Officer in 1992 and Under Secretary in 1994 within the same section. Later in 1994, he was transferred to the Department of Security’s main office, where he was promoted to Deputy Secretary in 1997. In the same year, he was transferred to the Office of Tibet in Taipei, Taiwan.
On 30 April 2002, Kunga Tashi was transferred back to the Department of Security in Dharamshala, where he was promoted to Joint Secretary in 2004.
In 2009, he was transferred to the Office of Tibet in Washington, D.C., where he was further promoted to Additional Secretary in 2012. In 2014, he returned to the Department of Security to serve as its Additional Secretary.
In 2016, he was appointed Chinese Liaison Officer at the Office of Tibet in Washington, D.C., a position he held until his promotion to Secretary on 15 May 2017. On 9 July 2018, he assumed responsibility for the Research Wing, overseeing the monitoring and analysis of geopolitical developments within China and liaising with Chinese people at the Kashag Secretariat. He served in this role until his retirement on 3 December 2018.
From 2022 onward, he served on a contractual basis as the Tibetan Liaison Officer at the Office of Tibet in Washington, D.C., until his appointment as Kalon of the Department of Security in the 17th Kashag on 2 June 2026.
Over the course of his career, he has served the Central Tibetan Administration for more than 38 years, in addition to three years of service with Tibetan non-governmental organisations.
Kalon Pema Tso (Department of Health)
Pema Tso was born on 12 March 1986 in Barkam (Ch. Maerkang Xian), Tibet, to her father, Dechen, and mother, Sodoen.
She completed her primary education in Barkam and continued her secondary education at the county school. During her studies, she consistently excelled academically in various competitions, including securing second place in an essay competition held across the Ngaba (Ch. Aba) region.
In 2002, she passed the entrance examination for Sichuan Province’s Tibetan Language School, where she studied Tibetan–Chinese translation for three years. Owing to her strong academic performance, she was awarded a three-year scholarship by Along Rinpoche through ROKPA International. During her studies, she received the Excellent Student Award on six occasions in recognition of her exemplary conduct, academic excellence, and personal discipline.
In July 2005, she graduated from Sichuan Province’s Tibetan Language School. Following her graduation, she worked as editor at the Siling Pangen Printing Press.
Pema Tso fled Tibet in December 2005 and arrived at the Tibetan Reception Centre in Nepal on 25 February 2006. She later studied at Sherab Gatseling School in Dharamshala, India, for several months before serving as a teacher at Drikung Monastery School and Suja TCV School.
In 2009, she joined Tibet Post International as a reporter and concurrently worked as a sub-editor for the Shambala Tibetan website. In 2013, she joined Tibet Times as a reporter. Since 2018, she has been serving as the Chief Editor of the Tibet Times.
In 2024, she delivered talks at Indiana University and Columbia University, related on Tibetan journalism and communications.
Pema Tso served as a member of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile and currently serves in the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, representing Dhomey Province. She is also an executive member of the Tibetan Journalists Association and the Pen Tibetan Writers’ Association.
On 2 June 2026, she was elected as the members of 17th Kashag and was appointed Kalon of the Department of Health.
