Dharamshala (India), 2 July (LaPresse/AP) – The Tibetan Buddhist institution of the Dalai Lama will continue after the death of the current Dalai Lama. He announced this himself in a statement recorded during prayers ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, ending years of speculation that began when he indicated that he might be the last person to hold the role of Dalai Lama. ‘The institution of the Dalai Lama will continue’ and the search for the future Dalai Lama must be conducted ‘in accordance with the tradition of the past,’ said the current spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama and 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The Dalai Lama is revered as a deity by Tibetan Buddhists and considered a separatist by China. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lama can choose the body in which he will be reincarnated, as has happened on 14 occasions since the institution was created in 1587. Tenzin Gyatso became the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1940. Born Lhamo Thondup in north-eastern Tibet in 1935, the Dalai Lama turns 90 on 6 July according to the Gregorian calendar. He made the Indian hill town of Dharamshala his home after fleeing Tibet following the failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, which was suppressed by Chinese troops. Representatives of the Tibetan government in exile also reside in Dharamshala.