Tsering Shakya, historian/writer/professor, was born in Tibet and attended the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University, where he was a research fellow in Tibetan Studies. Over the last ten years he has regularly briefed politicians on Tibet at the Foreign Bureau Office and the European Parliament.

His publications include Fire Under Snow: The testimony of a Tibetan Prisoner, Dragon in the Land of Snow: A History of Tibet since 1947, and numerous articles, radio and television discussions. He is currently a professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada.