Che Dalha

Che Dalha
ཆེ་དགྲ་ལྷ Tề trát kéo
ChairmanofTibet Autonomous Region
In office 15 January 2017 – 8 October 2021
Preceded by	Losang Jamcan
Succeeded by	Yan Jinhai
Personal details
Born	August 1958 (age 66) Zhongdian County,Yunnan,China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Alma mater	Yunnan Nationalities University Central Party School
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	Tề trát kéo
Traditional Chinese	Tề trát kéo
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qízhālā
Tibetan name
Tibetan	ཆེ་དགྲ་ལྷ
Transcriptions Wylie che dgra-lha THL Ché Dralha Tibetan Pinyin Qê Zhalha LhasaIPA t͡ɕʰé ʈàl̥a

Che Dalha(Tibetan:ཆེ་དགྲ་ལྷ,Lhasa dialect:[t͡ɕʰéʈàl̥a];born August 1958), also romanized asChe ZalaandQizhala(Chinese:Tề trát kéo;pinyin:Qízhālā), is a Chinese politician ofTibetanethnicity who served as Chairman (Governor) ofTibet Autonomous Regionbetween January 2017 and October 2021. Originally fromYunnanprovince, he served asCommunist Party Secretaryof the Tibetan capitalLhasabetween 2012 and 2017.Since October 2017, he is the member of theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

Career

Che Dalha was born inZhongdian County,Yunnan(later renamed Shangri-La). He left school at age 10 to herd animals in his home village.He completed primary school and high school by teaching himself.In 1979, he participated in the civil service examinations of Zhongdian County with good results, and was given a minor post in theCommunist Youth Leagueas a rural functionary. In 1983, the 25-year-old Che Dalha became the Communist Youth League Secretary of Zhongdian County. He would progressively ascend the ranks of the Communist Party hierarchy, serving as theDeputy Party Secretary,then Party Secretary of Zhongdian County.

Between 1994 and 2001, Che Dalha was instrumental in bringing the "Shangri-la" brand to life in Zhongdian County, making the area a major tourist destination. In 2001, the year he was promoted to Governor of theDêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,Zhongdian County was officially renamed Shangri-La by directive of the State Council.In 1996 he attended toYunnan Nationalities University,and graduated in 1998 with a degree in economic management specializing in ethnic minority affairs; he also has a bachelor's degree from theCentral Party Schoolin political and legal affairs. In Dêqên, Che Dalha was credited with making the region the "best Tibetan region in China" as documented by Chinese official sources. He was elected aprovincial party standing committeemember in Yunnan province in 2010, ascending to sub-provincial ranks.

In September 2010, Che Dalha was appointed as the Head of theUnited Front Work DepartmentinTibet Autonomous Region,and he was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Tibet People's Political Consultative Conference in 2011. In 2012, he was appointed as the Party Secretary of Tibetan capitalLhasa;the move was welcomed by some Lhasa residents because Che Dalha had replaced a Han Chinese,Qin Yizhi,in the post.In his capacity as party chief of Lhasa, he visited Chicago and met with U.S. SenatorMark Kirk.His tenure in Lhasa was largely defined by the modernization of the cityscape.

On 15 January 2017, Che Dalha was appointed Chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region, succeedingLosang Jamcan.He was the ninth ethnic Tibetan to assume the post after the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution, and the first chairman from Yunnan province. He was additionally the first chairman of the region to have not been born in the Tibet Autonomous Region in some twenty years.

On 23 October 2021, he was appointed vice chairperson of theNational People's Congress Ethnic Affairs Committee.