Dharamshala: - Elected Tibetan political leader, Kalontripa of Central Tibetan Administration, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, will take oath of office on August 8 at the main Tibetan temple in the Himalayan town of MecLeod Ganj, an official statement declared.
The oath taking ceremony will be held at 8:30 am at the central courtyard of the main Tibetan temple, opposite the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 43-year-old Lobsang succeeds Samdhong Rinpoche as Kalontripa.
"All these dignitaries will offer the traditional Tibetan greeting scarves (Tib: Khatags), as a way of felicitating Dr. Lobsang Sangay on this historic day."
The oath will be administered by Ngawang Phelgyal, the Chief Justice Commissioner, in the presence of the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, who will also address the official function, accoring to statement issued by the the administration.
The new Kalontripa will be the first to take charge of the office after the Tibetan Parliament amended its charter to divest His Holiness the Dalai Lama of his political role and transfer his functions to the elected heads of the Central Tibetan Administration based in Dharamshala.
"On the second day, 9 August, foreign dignitaries, including members of parliaments and other friends of Tibet, including our Chinese friends, will felicitate Kalon Tripa, Dr. Lobsang Sangay at the public ceremony at 9 am at the same venue, it said.
Dr. Lobsang was chosen in the third direct elections for the Kalontripa held on March 20 this year. He is the first political leader to have been born outside Tibet, his birthplace being Darjeeling, India. To many Tibetans Dr. Lobsang represents the younger generations of Tibetans with his rhetoric of "innovation, self-reliance and equality" as well as the fact that he himself will be among one of the younger politicians of the Central Tibetan Administration with his 42 years of age.
