Toni Hagen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dr. Toni Hagen (born August 17, 1917 in Luzern, died April 18, 2003 in Lenzerheide) was a Swiss geologist and a pioneer of swiss development assistance.
Dr. Toni Hagen first visited Nepal in 1950 with a first swiss development assistance mission. In 1952 he was employed by the government of Nepal and also worked for the United Nations. He explored the geography of the Himalaya-State.
After the Tibet was taken over by China in 1959, Dr. Toni Hagen used his influence to help the tibetan refugees. During the next years he gained Dalai Lama's confidence.
In 1999 Dr. Toni Hagen filmed a story of his life "The Ring of the Buddha" (German title: "Der Ring des Buddha"), which also included some original materials from the 1960-es. He died in early 2003, short time after the film was shown, and just few days after the death of his wife Gertrud in Lenzerheide.