Madhav Kumar Nepal (Nepali: माधवकुमार नेपाल, [madʱʌbˈkumar neˈpal] ; born 6 March 1953), is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served as Prime Minister of Nepal from 25 May 2009 to 6 February 2011 for nearly two years.[2]

Madhav Kumar Nepal
माधवकुमार नेपाल
34th Prime Minister of Nepal
In office
25 May 2009 – 6 February 2011
PresidentRam Baran Yadav
DeputyBijay Kumar Gachhadar
Preceded byPushpa Kamal Dahal
Succeeded byJhala Nath Khanal
Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal
In office
30 November 1994 – 12 September 1995
MonarchKing Birendra
Prime MinisterMan Mohan Adhikari
Chairman of CPN (Unified Socialist) and Socialist Front
Assumed office
2021
Preceded byPosition created
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
30 November 1994 – 12 September 1995
MonarchKing Birendra
Prime MinisterMan Mohan Adhikari
Preceded byGirija Prasad Koirala
Succeeded byPrakash Chandra Lohani
Minister of Defence
In office
30 November 1994 – 12 September 1995
MonarchKing Birendra
Prime MinisterMan Mohan Adhikari
Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha
Assumed office
22 December 2022
Preceded byAnil Kumar Jha
Constituency Rautahat 1
In office
May 1999 – May 2002
Preceded byBraj Kishor Singh
Succeeded byBaban Singh
ConstituencyRautahat 1
In office
4 March 2018 – September 2022
Preceded byDeepak Prasad Kuikel
ConstituencyKathmandu 2
Member of Constituent Assembly
In office
28 May 2008 – 28 May 2012
ConstituencyNominated
In office
21 January 2014 – 14 October 2017
Preceded byBaban Singh
Succeeded byAnil Kumar Jha
ConstituencyRautahat 1
Member of Parliament, Rastriya Sabha
In office
26 June 1991 – 27 June 1999
Personal details
Born (1953-03-06) 6 March 1953 (age 71)[1]
Gaur, Nepal
Political partyCPN (Unified Socialist) (2021-present)
Other political
affiliations
CPN (UML) (until 2018; 2021)
Nepal Communist Party (2018-2021)
Alma materTribhuvan University
WebsiteOfficial website
Nicknameमाकुने

He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister along with the charges of important ministries like Foreign Affairs and Defence in the cabinet of Man Mohan Adhikari. He was previously the executive General Secretary of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) for 15 years.[3]

Since 18 August 2021, he has been serving as the chairman of the CPN (Unified Socialist), a new party formed through split in CPN (UML) citing arrogance and monopoly of the party president KP Sharma Oli.[4] Madhav Kumar Nepal has received the Title Honor “Patron of Humanity”[5] award from World Humanitarian Drive(WHD)[6]

Early life edit

Madhav Kumar Nepal was born into a Brahmin family to Mangal Kumar and Durgadevi Upadhaya.[7][8] He graduated in commerce from Tribhuvan University in 1973 and worked in banking and civil service before turning to full-time politics. He has two brothers, Binod Kumar Upadhyaya and Saroj Kumar Upadhyaya and three sisters, Kalika Bhandari, Indira Neupane and Basudha Pokharel.

Political career edit

Early political activism edit

Nepal joined the communist movement in 1969 (2026 B.S.). During the underground struggle, he used party names such as 'Subodh', 'Sunil', 'Ranjan' and 'Bibek'. In 1971, he became a district committee member of the Nepal Revolutionary Organisation (Marxist-Leninist). At a conference held in Biratnagar June 7–8, 1975, Nepal was elected as a bureau member of the All Nepal Communist Revolutionary Coordination Committee (Marxist-Leninist). When the ANCRCC (ML) founded the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) in 1978, Nepal was elected a politburo member of the new party.

Multi-party democracy (1991–2006) edit

He was the Deputy Prime Minister in the CPN (UML) minority government in 1994-1995 as well as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly during the 1990s. He argued for the Nepal Civil War to be solved through talks and did not believe that mobilization of the army was the solution and as the leader of CPN (UML), was one of the three key Nepali leaders, the other two being prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala and rebel Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', crucial in bringing the Maoists into the peace process and signing the 12 point peace accords that ended the decade long war.

Nepal was arrested in 2001 during a crackdown on anti-government protest. Following the palace massacre he called for Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to step down, though later joined forces with him to launch a campaign against King Gyanendra's assumption of executive powers.[citation needed]

Transition period edit

On 12 April 2008, Nepal resigned as General Secretary of the CPN (UML),[9] after having lost the Kathmandu 2 seat to Maoist candidate Jhakku Prasad Subedi in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election.[10] Subedi was a comparatively obscure candidate.[11] Nepal was also defeated in Rautahat-6 constituency by Maoist candidate Devendra Patel.[12] He later won both Kathmandu 2 and Rautahat 1 seats in the Second Constituent Assembly election of 2013. Nepal later chose Rautahat 1.[13] He won the Kathmandu 2 constituency again in the 2017 general election by a margin of 14,000 votes.[14]

In June 2008, the CPN (UML) proposed that Nepal become the country's first President, following the declaration of a republic, though the idea did not materialise after disagreement with the ruling Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).[15]

Prime Minister of Nepal edit

 
Nepal with President Ram Baran Yadav

He became the 34th Prime Minister of Nepal on 25 May 2009 after his predecessor Prachanda resigned over a conflict with the president over the dismissal of the army's chief of staff.[16]

Nepal himself resigned as prime minister on 30 June 2010 in an effort to help the government move past its deadlock and to pave the way for a national consensus government, as demanded by the opposition.[17][18]

 
Prime Minister Nepal delivering a speech at Tundikhel the occasion of Democracy Day.

Split in Nepal Communist Party and CPN (UML) edit

Nepal returned to CPN (UML) after the Supreme court decision to dissolve the party merger between CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre). Since 18 August 2021, he has been serving as the chairman of the CPN (Unified-Socialist), a new party formed through split in CPN (UML) citing arrogance and monopoly of the party president KP Sharma Oli.[4]

Major Political offices held edit

  • 1990: Member, Constitution Drafting Commission
  • 1991-1999: Member of the National Assembly
  • 1991-1994: Leader of Opposition, National Assembly
  • 1993-2008: General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML)
  • 1994-1995: Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1999-2002: Member of the House of Representatives from Rautahat-1
  • 1999-2002: Leader of the Opposition, House of Representatives
  • 2008-2013: Member of the Constituent Assembly from CPN (UML) party list
  • 2009-2011: Prime Minister of Nepal
  • 2013-2017: Member of the Legislative Parliament from Kathmandu-2
  • 2017–2021: Member of the House of Representatives from Kathmandu-2

Personal life edit

He is married to Gayatri Acharya. He has a son and a daughter, Saurav and Suman Nepal. There have been widespread rumorous claims that he adopted Christianity as his new faith and has been promoting conversion of Hindus to Christianity. However, he publicly and categorically denied any link with Christianity or having any role in expanding the activity of Christian missionaries in his country.[7][19]

Electoral history edit

2022 legislative elections edit

Nepal contested in 2022 election from Rautahat. He faced Ajay Kumar Gupta of CPN(UML) who previously lost as mayor of Gaur Municipality in the 2022 Nepalese local elections.

Rautahat 1
Party Candidate Votes
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar Nepal 33522
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) Ajay Kumar Gupta 26922
Others 1691
Invalid votes
Result CPN (US) gain
Source: eKantipur.com

2017 legislative elections edit

Kathmandu 2
Party Candidate Votes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal 27,366
Nepali Congress Dipak Prasad Kuikel 14,903
Bibeksheel Sajha Party Surya Raj Acharya 7,437
Others 1,549
Invalid votes 1,790
Result CPN (UML) gain
Source: Election Commission

2013 Constituent Assembly election edit

Rautahat 1
Party Candidate Votes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal 8,361
Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal (Democratic) Ajay Kumar Gupta 8,023
Sanghiya Sadbhavana Party Anil Kumar Jha 4,234
UCPN (Maoist) Raj Kishor Prasad Yadav 3,642
Sadbhavana Party Yogendra Raya Yadav 1,658
Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum, Nepal Baban Singh 1,481
Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party Babu Lal Prasad Sah Kanu 1,470
Nepali Congress Sant Lal Sah Teli 1,302
Others 3,822
Result CPN (UML) gain
Source: NepalNews[20]
Kathmandu 2
Party Candidate Votes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal 21,747
Nepali Congress Praitma Gautam 12,479
UCPN (Maoist) Lila Mani Pokharel 7,134
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal Nawa Raj Simkhada 5,358
Others 2,680
Result CPN (UML) gain
Source: Election Commission

2008 Constituent Assembly election edit

Kathmandu 2
Party Candidate Votes
CPN (Maoist) Jhakku Prasad Subedi 13,858
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal 12,325
Nepali Congress Deepak Prasad Kuikel 11,544
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Deepak Meyar Shrestha 1,570
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal Nawa Raj Simkhada 1,569
Others 2,212
Invalid votes 1,836
Result CPN (Maoist) gain
Source: Election Commission[21]

1999 legislative elections edit

Rautahat 1
Party Candidate Votes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal 22,868
Nepali Congress Braj Kishor Singh 10,757
Independent Parmananda Sah Teli 3,157
CPN (Marxist–Leninist) Bishwanath Prasad Agrawal 3,058
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chandrika Prasad Singh 3,030
Others 1,443
Invalid Votes 1,306
Result CPN (UML) gain
Source: Election Commission[22][23]
Rautahat 4
Party Candidate Votes
CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal 26,758
Nepali Congress Uddhav Dhakal 19,125
Nepal Sadbhawana Party Yugal Kishor Chaudhary 3,519
CPN (Marxist–Leninist) Rajdev Prasad Chaudhary 2,107
Others 486
Invalid Votes 2,000
Result CPN (UML) gain
Source: Election Commission[22][23]


See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ संघीय संसद सदस्य, २०७४ परिचयात्मक पुस्तिका [Federal Parliament Members 2017 Introduction Booklet] (PDF) (in Nepali). Nepal: Federal Parliament Secretariat. 2021. p. 270.
  2. ^ "Nepal parliament elects new PM".
  3. ^ "१५ वर्ष महासचिव बनेका माधव नेपाल १५ वर्षपछि दलको नेता". nepalkhabar (in Nepali). 3 June 2019. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  4. ^ a b "माधव नेपालप्रति ओलीको टिप्पणी : सरकार ढाल्ने, अनि उनैलाई अध्यक्ष बनाउनुपर्ने ?". Online Khabar. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  5. ^ https://foreignaffairsnews.com/madhav-nepal-honoured-with-patron-of-humanity/
  6. ^ https://english.khabarhub.com/2020/30/108572/
  7. ^ a b K.C., Surendra. Aitihasik Dastavej Sangraha - Bhag 2. Kathmandu: Pairavi Prakashan, 2063 B.S. p 460.
  8. ^ "CPN-UML Comrades Apart". Spotlight Nepal Magazine. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  9. ^ "MK Nepal announces resignation as UML gen secy"[permanent dead link], Nepalnews, April 12, 2008.
  10. ^ "UML gen secy loses to CPN-M candidate in Kathmandu-2; NWPP takes both constituencies in Bhaktapur" Archived 2008-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, Nepalnews, April 12, 2008.
  11. ^ "Big Maoist wins could reshape Nepal's politics", The Christian Science Monitor, April 15, 2008.
  12. ^ "MK Nepal loses in Rautahat, too"[permanent dead link], Nepalnews, April 14, 2008.
  13. ^ "The difficulty of being Madhav Nepal". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  14. ^ "निर्वाचन मतगणनाको परिणाम". result.election.gov.np. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  15. ^ "UML, Maoist leaders differ on presidential candidate"[permanent dead link], Nepalnews, June 21, 2008.
  16. ^ "Communist leader elected Nepal PM". BBC. 23 May 2009.
  17. ^ "Nepal PM quits in live TV address". BBC News. June 30, 2010.
  18. ^ "Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Resigns". Nepal News. 1 July 2010.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ "NCP leader Nepal denies any link with Christianity". Republica.
  20. ^ "Nepalnews.com - News from Nepal as it happens". 2015-03-25. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  21. ^ "Ca Election report". 2009-10-03. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  22. ^ a b "Finalised Constituencies With Top Two Candidates". 2008-01-24. Archived from the original on 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  23. ^ a b "Election Results'99". nepalresearch.org. Retrieved 2020-11-15.

Further reading edit

  • Busky, Donald F (2002). Communism in History and Theory. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-97733-1
  • Hutt, Michael (2004). Himalayan "People's War". C. Hurst & Co Publishers. ISBN 1-85065-722-X

External links edit

Party political offices
Preceded by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML)
1993–2008
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Nepal
2009–2011
Succeeded by