1960 9 2 1963 1990 5 2011 3 10 2011 5 29 369

Democracy in Exile
On 2 September 1960, His Holiness the Dalai Lama instituted the first election of Tibetan people's representatives and, in 1963, presented a draft democratic constitution for the future Tibet. In May 1990, the radical reforms initiated by His Holiness saw the realization of a truly democratic administration for the Tibetan community in exile. The Kashag, the highest executive body of the administration in exile, which till then had been appointed by him, was dissolved along with the tenth Parliament-in-Exile. A three-member interim Kashag was elected by the representatives of Tibetan diaspora at a special meeting. In the same year, the Tibetans elected their parliamentary representatives, who, in turn, elected members to the Kashag. On 10 March 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama declared his decision to devolve his political authority to an elected leadership. On 29 May 2011, the Tibetan Parliament amended the exile Tibetan Charter marking the formal relinquishment of political power by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. In this way, he ended the 369-year-old tradition of the institution of the Dalai Lama exercising both temporal and spiritual authority over Tibet. By this decisive act, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has truly empowered his people, unleashing their collective energy to sustain their just struggle for years to come.

1959 3 12
Potala, Winter Palace, Lhasa, March 12, 1959.

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