The U.S. Senate has passed a resolution honoring Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari for his་years of service as Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The་bipartisan resolution, S. Res. 557, was approved by unanimous consent་through a voice vote.
“The Senate has offered a wonderful tribute to a man who has dedicated his་life to service of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people,” said་Gare Smith, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International་Campaign for Tibet, and a past Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State་for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. “Lodi Gyari has worked for decades་as a skilled diplomat to advance the vision of His Holiness in diplomatic་circles. This resolution is a fitting way to honor Lodi, as he understood early on the essential role that the U.S. Congress could play in elevating,་promoting and institutionalizing the Tibetan issue in the U.S.government and་the international community.”
The resolution was introduced on September 13 by Sen. John Kerry, Chairman་of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is cosponsored by Sens.་Richard Lugar (R-IN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John་McCain (R-AZ), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Mark Kirk་(R-IL) and Mark Udall (D-CO).
In June 2012, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala་accepted the resignation of Lodi Gyari as Special Envoy of His Holiness the་Dalai Lama following the devolution of power from the Dalai Lama to the་elected Tibetan leadership. In this role, he was the representative of the་Dalai Lama in talks with the Chinese government, of which there were nine་formal rounds between September 2002 and January 2010. Mr. Gyari continues་to serve as a member of the CTA’s Task Force on dialogue with China, and as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Campaign་for Tibet.