Published April 27, 2011

Longtime Harvard Law research fellow and Medford resident Lobsang Sangay has been elected leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Lobsang Sangay, here in front of the Tibetan flag, is the new prime minister of the country's government-in-exile. (AP)

Sangay, who was the frontrunner for Kalon Tripa, or prime minister, won with 55 percent of the vote, besting two other final candidates.

WBUR’s Bob Oakes and Lisa Tobin spoke with the 43-year-old recently. Tibet is under China’s control, and, as prime minister, Sangay stressed he’d seek to “reach out to the Chinese government, to have a dialogue, to resolve the issue peacefully and non-violently.”

The position, based in Dharamsala, India, does not come with the usual trappings of high government office. The current prime minister is a monk and the job pays $400 a month. Sangay, though, is undaunted.

“I’m willing and happy to give up the comfort and privileges of the People’s Republic of Cambridge and go to India and serve my people,” he said.

WBUR tried to reach Sangay earlier today. His cellphone voicemail, unsurprisingly, was full.