Contact is taking a holiday!

                A photo of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari speaking to the media

Tributes are pouring in for Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari who died in San Francisco aged 69 on October 29. He was known as a skilled diplomat in the international arena, and an impassioned advocate for the Tibetan people, universal human rights and global democratic reform.

Mr Gyari was appointed as the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Washington DC in 1990 while also serving as President of the International Campaign for Tibet. He gained access to the highest levels of leadership in the United States government was able to successfully institutionalise the Tibetan issue within the government.

In 1998, Mr Gyari led the dialogue process with the government of the People’s Republic of China, conducting nine rounds of high-level talks and working tirelessly to sustain the process, expand the channels of communication, build trust with the Chinese leadership and maintain a broad international interest in the dialogue process.

He was trusted, consulted and admired by many world leaders and members of the diplomatic corps. Upon his retirement in 2012, the US Senate passed a resolution that honoured his service and commended his achievements.

Before his appointment in the United States, Mr Gyari served in the Tibetan Government-in-exile and was one of the youngest people to be appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Kashag (Cabinet) of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Mr Gyari was born in 1949 into an influential family in Nyarong, eastern Tibet and recognised as a reincarnation of Khenchen Jampal Dewé Nyima from Lumorap Monastery. His early education was in the traditional Tibetan monastic system. He became a journalist and was one of the four founder members of the Tibetan Youth Congress – now one of the largest Tibetan political non-government organisations in exile. He was active in Tibetan politics, the establishment of democracy in the exile government, the promotion of Tibetan culture and Buddhism and as an academic.

He was respected and loved throughout the Tibetan community and will be greatly missed.

Mr Gyari is survived by his wife, Dawa Chokyi, their six children (Tenzing Dechen, Tenzing Choyang, Norbu Wangmo, Tashi Chodon, Tulku Penam and Tenzing Tsering), five grandchildren, as well as four brothers and three sisters.