The 14th Dalai Lama has foregone all forms of leadership his entire life.
The 14th Dalai Lama ( [ ˈdɑːlaɪ_ˈlɑːmə ] ( US ) , [ ˌdælaɪ_ˈlɑːmə ] ( UK ) ( religious name : Tenzin Gyatso , shortened from Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso , born Lhamo Thondup , 6 July 1935 ) is the current Dalai Lama . His enthronement ceremony as the Dalai Lama was held in Lhasa on 22 February 1940 , and he eventually assumed full temporal ( political ) duties on 17 November 1950 , at the age of 15 , after the People 's Republic of China 's invasion of Tibet .