By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, August 26: New heads for two of Central Tibetan Administration’s autonomous bodies have been elected during a meeting of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile’s Standing Committee on Monday in Dharamshala.
Former Finance Minister Karma Yeshi was appointed as the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and Lhakpa Gyaltsen, the Director of the Tibetan Children’s Village business division, was appointed as the Auditor General.
According to the Tibetan parliament in exile, the position of Chairperson of the Public Service Commission had two candidates; former Kalon Karma Yeshi and Tsultrim Dorjee, the welfare officer of Kullu. The Standing Committee, with 10 members present, conducted a ballot, resulting in Karma Yeshi receiving more than two-thirds of the votes, leading to his appointment.
Karma Yeshi, born in 1965, was schooled at the Tibetan Children’s Village School in Dharamsala and further studied at Punjab University in Chandigarh. He served two terms as Vice President of the Tibetan Youth Congress from 1995 to 2001, during which he led non-violent activities for the Tibetan cause. From 2003 to 2011, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Tibetan media outlet, Voice of Tibet. He then served three terms as a member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, representing the U-Tsang province, beginning in 2004. He was then appointed as the finance minister in the 15th Kashag of the Central Tibetan Administration from 2016 to 2021.
The selection committee also proposed two candidates for the position of Auditor General; Lhakpa Gyaltsen and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal. The standing committee conducted a ballot, where Lhakpa Gyaltsen received more than two-thirds of the votes, resulting in his appointment as the new Auditor General of the Audit Office.
Lhakpa Gyaltsen, born on July 8, 1962, completed his education at the Tibetan Children’s Village and graduated from the College of Accounting in 1985. He worked as an auditor in the Audit Office from 1985 to 1991 and held various roles in accounting and management, including as Chief Accountant at the Norbulingka Institute for Preservation of Tibetan Culture. In 2001, he established a private accounting firm and has conducted audits for various institutions under the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Since 2014, he has been with the Tibetan Children’s Villages and currently serves as the Director of the TCV Commercial Department.
