Gyalo Thondup, the eldest brother of the Dalai Lama and a political operator in Tibet and the greater region, has died, the Dalai Lama’s office confirmed in a statement. He died on Sunday in Kalimpong in West Bengal, India, according to Tibetan media. He was 97.

达赖喇嘛办公室在声明中证实，达赖喇嘛的兄长、大藏区政治人士嘉乐顿珠已经去世。据藏人媒体报道，他于周日在印度西孟加拉邦的噶伦蓬去世，享年97岁。

“He was a good man who did his best for the Tibetan cause,” the Dalai Lama said in the statement. “I pray that he will take a good rebirth as a Tibetan again and that he will be able to serve the Tibetan administration that is a combination of spirituality and politics once more,” he said, referring to the Buddhist belief in the cycle of rebirth.

“善哉，我的兄长嘉乐顿珠，为利藏民，尽心尽力，”达赖喇嘛在声明中表示，“愿其功德令兄长早日投身善趣，成为藏族，继续利益西藏政教。”他指的是佛教对轮回重生的信仰。

A prominent figure in Tibetan society and politics, Mr. Thondup has been called the second-most influential person in the small Himalayan territory, eclipsed only by his brother, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama and head of Tibetan Buddhism.

作为西藏社会和政治的杰出人物，嘉乐顿珠被称为西藏影响力第二大的人物，仅次于他的弟弟、第十四世达赖喇嘛和藏传佛教领袖丹增嘉措。

Together, the brothers defined a political era in Tibet, the increasingly isolated territory nestled in the Himalayas that has long battled Chinese influence and control. While the Dalai Lama has often been more public-facing, courting worldwide attention and accolades, Mr. Thondup was seen as a reserved, geopolitical operator who was more comfortable away from the spotlight.

兄弟俩共同定义了一个西藏的政治时代，这个日益孤立的地区位于喜马拉雅山脉，长期以来一直在与中国的影响力和控制作斗争。抛头露面、吸引全世界关注和赞誉的往往是达赖喇嘛，而嘉乐顿珠被视为一个低调的地缘政治操盘手，更愿意避开媒体和公众的关注。

For decades, Mr. Thondup advocated for paths to allow his brother — exiled since 1959 — to return to the territory. He kept the company of international leaders, hoping to leverage various stakeholders in the service of Tibetan independence.

几十年来，嘉乐顿珠谋求各种途径让自1959年以来流亡海外的弟弟返回西藏。他与国际社会的领导人打交道，希望借助各种利益相关者的力量来推动西藏的独立。

One of six children born to farmers in the Chinese town of Takster, Mr. Thondup served as a lifelong adviser and advocate for his younger brother. Sent abroad to study, he was the only one of his siblings not destined for religious life.

嘉乐顿珠出生于中国当采镇（今青海红崖村，译注）的一个农民家里，家里有六个孩子。他一生都是弟弟的顾问和支持者。他被送到国外学习，是兄弟姐妹中唯一一个没有接受宗教生活训练的人。

Freed from spiritual obligations, Mr. Thondup spent his life working for Tibetan autonomy, sometimes more aggressively than others.

在不受精神义务约束的情况下，嘉乐顿珠一生都致力于争取西藏的自治，有时表现得比其他人更为激进。

Mr. Thondup settled in India in 1952 and was an early mediator when the Dalai Lama fled there after the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. Mr. Thondup would later call his brother’s safe passage to India one of his greatest achievements.

嘉乐顿珠于1952年定居印度，达赖喇嘛在1959年反抗中国统治的起义失败后逃往印度时，他是早期的调解人。嘉乐顿珠后来声称，弟弟安全抵达印度是他最大的成就之一。

Mr. Thondup would go on to cultivate some of the first official Tibetan contacts with Indian and American authorities in the 1950s and 1960s, asking for their support. In the 1950s, he aided the C.I.A. in an ill-fated attempt to arm Tibetan separatists against the Communist Chinese government.

在20世纪50年代和60年代，嘉乐顿珠代表西藏与印度和美国当局建立了一些最早的官方联系，寻求他们的支持。在50年代，他协助中情局武装西藏的分离主义者，对抗共产党政府，但行动以失败告终。

达赖喇嘛（右三）与家人在印度，摄于1956年。从左到右依次为达赖喇嘛的母亲、姐姐、长兄土登晋美诺布、兄长嘉乐顿珠、弟弟、达赖喇嘛、妹妹和最小的弟弟。

Mr. Thondup periodically met with Chinese leaders in efforts to ease Chinese influence over Tibet. Even as talks broke down in recent years, he urged Tibetans to stay engaged.

嘉乐顿珠定期与中国领导人会面，谋求减轻中国对西藏的影响。即使在近年来谈判破裂的情况下，他仍然敦促藏人继续保持接触。

“It’s essential for Tibetan people not to lose hope in pleading for our rights to the Chinese government,” Mr. Thondup said at a news conference in 2008. He published an autobiography in 2015, “The Noodlemaker of Kalimpong,” about his life of activism and the Tibetan struggle against Chinese rule.

“对西藏人民来说，在向中国政府争取我们的权利时，不要失去希望，这是至关重要的，”嘉乐顿珠在2008年的一次新闻发布会上说。他在2015年出版了自传《噶伦堡的制面师》(The Noodlemaker of Kalimpong)，讲述了他的奋斗历程，以及西藏反抗中国统治的斗争。

The Dalai Lama led a prayer service on Sunday for his brother, his office said.

达赖喇嘛的办公室表示，达赖喇嘛周日主持了为哥哥举行的悼念法会。

After the service, as the recitation concluded, the Dalai Lama rose from his seat, saluted a photo of his late brother and returned to his living space, the statement from his office said.

达赖喇嘛办公室的声明称，仪式过后，随着念诵的结束，达赖喇嘛从座位上站起来，向已故兄长的照片行礼，然后回到自己的住所。