Government In Exile

Tibet-in-Exile

Number of Exiled Tibetans

There are approximately 120,000 Tibetans living outside of Tibet: India 91,000; Nepal 15,000; Bhutan 1,600; Switzerland 2,000; Scandinavia 110; other European settlements 640; USA 5,000; Canada 3,000; Japan 60; Taiwan 1,000; Australia and New Zealand, 220.

Head of State

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Tibetan Government-in-Exile (TGIE)

The Tibetan Government-in-exile was established in April 1959 in Mussoorie, India as the continuation of the independent Government of Tibet. In May 1960, the TGIE was moved to Dharamsala in northwest India. The Tibetan people, both in and outside of Tibet, recognize the TGIE as their sole and legitimate government. It is democratic, with popularly elected members of Parliament and Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa). The Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies has 46 members, 43 of whom are elected directly by the exiled population.

Cabinet

The Kashag (Cabinet) is the executive body of the TGIE. Its chair, Kalon Tripa, is elected directly by the exiled population for a term of five years. Under the Kashag are the main departments of Education, Finance, Religion and Culture, Home, Information and International Relations, Security, and Health.

Foreign Missions

New Delhi, Kathmandu, New York, London, Paris, Geneva, Budapest, Moscow, Canberra, Tokyo, Pretoria, Taipei and Brussels

Major NGOs

• Tibetan Youth Congress www.tibetanyouthcongress.org
• Tibetan Women’s Association www.tibetanwomen.org
• Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy www.tchrd.org
• Rangzen Alliance www.rangzen.net
• Gu-chu-sum Movement www.guchusum.org

Tibetans in Canada

Between 1971 and 1972, Canada admitted 228 Tibetan refugees under the Tibetan Refugee Program, with settlement programs in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. There are now roughly 3,000 Tibetan-Canadians, with the majority (about 2,000) living in the Greater Toronto Area and smaller communities in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. All of the Tibetan communities in Canada have established active community and cultural associations.