The 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso, shortened from Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrub, 6 July 1935) is the 14th and current Dalai Lama, as well as the longest lived incumbent. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is also well known for his lifelong advocacy for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors and a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The Dalai Lama was born in Taktser, Qinghai (also known to Tibetans as Amdo), and was selected as the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama two years later, although he was only formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama on 17 November 1950, at the age of 15. He inherited control over a government controlling an area roughly corresponding to the Tibet Autonomous Region just as the nascent People's Republic of China wished to assert central control over it. There is a dispute over whether the respective governments reached an agreement for a joint Chinese-Tibetan administration.

The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Sino-Mongolian word далай (dalai) meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ bla-ma (with a silent "b") meaning "chief, high priest".

In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.

For certain periods between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female. The Chinese government was very quick to reject this and claimed that only it has the authority to select the next Dalai Lama.

His Holiness is the official style or manner of address used in reference to the leaders of certain religious groups. In Christianity, specifically the Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, Armenian Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Roman Catholic Church (as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches), the style is used when respectively referring to the Pope of Alexandria and to the Pope of Rome. It is also used in reference to several other Christian patriarchs and catholicoi.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is also addressed in the same manner in English, as are other Buddhist leaders such as Sakya Trizin, the Patriarch of Sakyapa.

Other ecclesiastical dignitaries enjoy inferior styles. A Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church enjoys the rank and precedence of a sovereign prince, and is styled Your Eminence. A Patriarch of an Eastern Rite Church is styled Your Beatitude, and an Archbishop or Bishop is styled Your Excellency.

In Christianity, the style derives from the Latin word sanctitas. It was originally used for all bishops but, from the 7th century, it was only used for popes, patriarchs and some secular rulers. From the 14th century its use was restricted to a small minority of the Christian patriarchs, notably the Pope of Alexandria, the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Moscow. In the Dawoodi Bohra sect of the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, the title is held by Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin.