The Dalai Lama has announced that he will have a successor after his death, continuing a centuries-old tradition that has become a flashpoint in the struggle with China’s Communist Party over Tibet’s future.

In the Himalayan hill town of Dharamshala in northern India, Tibetans in exile are preparing to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama.The 14th reincarnation of Tibet's spiritual leader is one of the world's most influential figures and a Nobel peace laureate.

The statement puts to rest speculation that the Dalai Lama may be the last of Tibet's spiritual leaders, ending a line that stretches back centuries.