Dalai Lama XIII

Kyabjé Thubten Gyatso (Tibetan: ཐུབ་བསྟན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: Thub Bstan Rgya Mtsho) was the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet, the immediate predecessor of the better-known Kyabjé Tenzin Gyatso.

In 1878 he was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama, Trinley Gyatso (1856–1875). He was escorted to Lhasa and given his pre-novice vows by the Panchen Lama, Tenpai Wangchuk, and named Jetsun Ngawang Lobsang Thupten Gyatso Jigdral Chokley Namgyal Pelzangpo (blo bzang thub bstan rgya mtsho 'jigs bral dbang phyug phyogs las rnams rgyal dpal bzang po). On 1 August 1879 he was enthroned at the Potala Palace, but did not assume political power until 1895, after he had reached his majority. On 16 February 1899, he became the first Dalai Lama to be awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest academic degree awarded within the Gelugpa monastic educational system.

Thubten Gyatso was an intelligent reformer who proved himself a skillful politician when Tibet became a pawn in The Great Game between the Russian Empire and the British Empire. He was responsible for countering the British expedition to Tibet, restoring discipline in monastic life, and increasing the number of lay officials to avoid excessive power being placed in the hands of the monks. However, he also relaxed restrictions on monastic participation in government, which eventually was a contributing factor in the failure of many of his attempts at modernization and reform.