Mr Sonam Choephel Shosur, currently serving as the Secretary of the Department of Health, Central Tibetan Administration, has been selected as the new chief election commissioner and chairman of Public Service Commission.
Mr Sonam Choephel Shosur polled 20 votes during a voting held today in the Parliament. The other candidate, Mr Topgyal Tsering, the Secretary of the Department of Education, got 16 votes.
Their nominations were proposed by a 3-member selection committee comprising of former Chief Justice Commissioner Mr Namgyal Tsering, Kasur Tsering Phuntsok and former chairman of Public Service Commission Mr Ngamring Tashi Phuntsok. The selection committee was constituted by a committee of Chief Justice Commissioner, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Tibetan Parliament and Sikyong.
Shosur Sonam Choephel was born in Sakya, central Tibet on 6 July 1958. He is an alumnus of CST Darjeeling and went to Chandigarh for his further studies.
He joined the Central Tibetan Administration in 1982 as a Junior Clerk. He was initially posted at the Tibetan settlement office cum branch security office in Mcleod Ganj. In 1985, he was transferred to the Tibetan Reception Centre based in Delhi.
In 1989, he was promoted to the post of Senior Clerk and was appointed as the person in-charge of resettling Tibetans coming from Bhutan at the newly established Tibetan settlement near Dhondupling Settlement in Dehradun.
In 1990, he was appointed as the settlement officer cum Director of the Tibetan Reception Centre based in Delhi. He was gradually promoted to the post of Section Officer, Under Secretary and Deputy Secretary in 1992, 1993 and 1996 respectively.
On 23 February 1999, he was appointed as the Settlement Officer of Hunsur Tibetan settlement after being promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary. However, after repeated request from the Tibetan public in Delhi, he was transferred back to Delhi as the settlement officer.
He was transferred to Department of Home in the year 2000.
From 2001 – 2008, he served as the Tibetan Settlement Officer of Dharamshala.