Gyalo Thondup, the eldest brother of the Dalai Lama and a political operator in Tibet and the greater region, has died, the Dalai Lama’s office confirmed in a statement. He died on Sunday in Kalimpong in West Bengal, India, according to Tibetan media. He was 97.
“He was a good man who did his best for the Tibetan cause,” the Dalai Lama said in the statement. “I pray that he will take a good rebirth as a Tibetan again and that he will be able to serve the Tibetan administration that is a combination of spirituality and politics once more,” he said, referring to the Buddhist belief in the cycle of rebirth.
A prominent figure in Tibetan society and politics, Mr. Thondup has been called the second-most influential person in the small Himalayan territory, eclipsed only by his brother, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama and head of Tibetan Buddhism.
Together, the brothers defined a political era in Tibet, the increasingly isolated territory nestled in the Himalayas that has long battled Chinese influence and control. While the Dalai Lama has often been more public-facing, courting worldwide attention and accolades, Mr. Thondup was seen as a reserved, geopolitical operator who was more comfortable away from the spotlight.
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