ICT Chairman Richard Gere and Senator Lindsey Graham meet on Capitol Hill on May 19, 2026.
The International Campaign for Tibet extends its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Senator Lindsey Graham following his death.
A friend of the Tibetan people, Senator Graham met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as the elected Tibetan leadership and supported efforts to safeguard Tibet’s unique religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage.
Most recently, he emerged as an important bipartisan voice opposing China’s dystopian “Ethnic Unity and Progress” law. He joined the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s bipartisan condemnation of the law and co-led a bipartisan letter to Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng urging Beijing to reverse this policy of forced assimilation and respect the fundamental rights of Tibetans and other ethnic and religious communities.
Throughout his service on the Senate Appropriations Committee, including as Chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Senator Graham helped sustain robust US support for the Tibetan people. Under his leadership, Congress continued funding programs that preserve Tibet’s religion, culture, and language, strengthen the Central Tibetan Administration, develop future Tibetan leaders, and advance democratic resilience.
“Senator Graham understood that the struggle of the Tibetan people is ultimately about preserving a people’s identity, dignity, and freedom,” said Tencho Gyatso, President of the International Campaign for Tibet. “We are deeply grateful for his support and willingness to speak out at critical moments, and his long commitment to the Tibetan cause will be remembered by the Tibetan people with enduring gratitude.”