Gedhun Choekyi Nyima

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is the 11th Panchen Lama belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, as recognized and announced by the 14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later on 17 May, the six-year-old Panchen Lama was kidnapped and forcibly disappeared by the Chinese government, after the State Council of the People's Republic of China failed in its efforts to install a substitute. A Chinese substitute is seen as a political tool to undermine the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, which traditionally is recognized by the Panchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima remains forcibly detained by the Chinese government, along with his family, in an undisclosed location since 1995. His khenpo, Chadrel Rinpoche, and another Gelugpa monk, Jampa Chungla, were also arrested. The United Nations, with the support of numerous states, organizations, and private individuals continue to call for the 11th Panchen Lama's release.

25 April 1989

Born on the same birth date (25 April 1989): Marie-Michèle Gagnon • Michael van Gerwen

Born on the same birth day (25 April): Al Pacino • Dominique Blanc • Ernest Webb • Graham Payn • John Henson (puppeteer) • Johnathan Thurston • Jonathan Bailey • Robert Skidelsky • Tony Christie • Veronica Sutherland

Born in the same month (April 1989): Bethan Dainton • Bianca Belair • Christian Vietoris • Darren Nicholls • Jessica Jung • Justin Holiday • Kader Amadou • Marie-Michèle Gagnon • Michael van Gerwen • Simu Liu • Thisara Perera