Former MP Jigmey Jugney Appointed Dalai Lama’s Representative at Delhi Bureau 

By Tsering Choephel

DHARAMSALA, 30 Jan: Former member of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, Jigmey Jugney, has been appointed the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Bureau office in New Delhi, as announced by the Kashag in a circular dated 25 January. As the key Tibetan official in the Indian capital, he will assume the responsibility of representing the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) as the nodal officer of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the CTA.

Jugney’s appointment to the post came after his predecessor, Lobsang Shastri, who took office on 16 January 2023, resigned due to health issues recently. The appointment is effective immediately, and Jugney is the nineteenth person to hold the office.

As the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Bureau office in New Delhi, Jugney is responsible for maintaining liaison relations with the Government of India, foreign embassies, consulates, NGOs, and civil society groups, assisting with documentation for travel-related paperwork for exile Tibetans, among other tasks.

Jugney, 75, began his civil service in the Tibetan administration in 1983 as a secretary at the Tibetan Cooperative Society in Dhondeling Tibetan settlement in Kollegal, Karnataka. Later, he served as the settlement officer of Rabgyeling Tibetan settlement in Hunsur, as well as the Chief Representative Officer in Bangalore, overseeing Tibetans living in the whole of South India. In 1995, Jugney took on a secretarial role at the Department of Home and became the Secretary of the Office of the Auditor General. In 2011, he secured a seat in the Tibetan Parliament as a U-Tsang representative in the 15th Tibetan Parliament.