Girija Prasad Koirala

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Girija Prasad Koirala गिरिजा प्रसाद कोइराला
Head of State of Nepal Acting
Incumbent
Assumed office  15 January 2007
Prime Minister of Nepal
Incumbent
Assumed office  25 April 2006
Monarch	Gyanendra
Deputy	Ram Chandra Poudel
Preceded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
In office 22 March 2000 – 26 July 2001
Monarch	Birendra Dipendra Gyanendra
Preceded by	Krishna Prasad Bhattarai
Succeeded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
In office 15 April 1998 – 31 May 1999
Monarch	Birendra
Preceded by	Surya Bahadur Thapa
Succeeded by	Krishna Prasad Bhattarai
In office 26 May 1991 – 30 November 1994
Monarch	Birendra
Preceded by	Krishna Prasad Bhattarai
Succeeded by	Man Mohan Adhikari
Born	1925 Bihar, India
Political party	SPA-NC
Spouse	Sushma Koirala
Children	Sujata Koirala
Residence	Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Religion	Hindu
Website	[1]

Girija Prasad Koirala (Nepali: गिरिजा प्रसाद कोइराला, born 1925) is the Acting Head of State and Prime Minister of Nepal. He has been Prime Minister of Nepal four times, serving from 1991 to 1994, 1998 to 1999, 2000 to 2001, and again since April 2006. He is also the President of the Nepali Congress and leader of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA). He has been active in politics for over sixty years and started his career as a labor leader in the Jute mills of his hometown Biratnagar. In 1991 he became the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal since 1959, when his brother B. P. Koirala and the Nepali Congress party swept the country's first democratic election.

[edit] Political career

In 1948 Koirala founded the Nepal Mazdoor Congress, later known as the Nepal Trade Union Congress. Later, in 1952 he became the President of the Morang district Nepali Congress and held that office until he was arrested and imprisoned by King Mahendra following the 1960 royal coup. Upon his release in 1967, Girija Prasad Koirala, along with other leaders and workers of the party, was exiled in India until his return to Nepal in 1979. Koirala was General Secretary of the Nepali Congress Party from 1975 to 1991. [2] Koirala was actively involved in the 1990 Jana Andolan which led to the abrogation of the Panchayat rule and the introduction of a multi-party politics in the country.

[edit] First term

He was elected Member of Parliament in 1991 in Nepal's first multi-party democratic elections following the Jana Aandolan from the Morang-1 and Sunsari-5 constituencies. The Nepali Congress won 110 of the 205 seats in the Pratinidhi Sabha, the lower house of parliament. He was subsequently elected the leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party and appointed Prime Minister by King Birendra.

During his first term, the house of representatives enacted legislations to liberalize education, media and health sectors in the country. The government also founded the Purwanchal University and the BP Koirala Institute of Health and Sciences (BPKIHS) in the Eastern Development region and granted licenses to private sector to run medical and engineering colleges in various parts of the country. The government also undertook the construction of the BP Memorial Cancer hospital in Bharatpur, Nepal with assistance from the government of China.

In November 1994 he called for a dissolution of parliament and general elections after a procedural defeat on the floor of the House when 36 Members of Parliament (MPs) of his party went against a government sponsored vote of confidence. This led to the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist)-led coalition coming to power in the elections that followed.

[edit] Second term

Koirala took over as Prime Minister from Surya Bahadur Thapa following the collapse of the coalition government led by Thapa. Koirala first headed a Nepali Congress minority government until December 25, 1998 after which he headed a three-party coalition government with the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and the Nepal Sadhbhawana Party.

[edit] Third term

Koirala became Prime Minister in 2000 for his third term following the resignation of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, under whose leadership party had won the parliamentary election. The Nepali Congress Party had won the election claiming Krishna Prasad Bhattarai would be the Prime Minister, but Koirala led a group of dissident MPs and forced Bhattarai to resign or face a no confidence motion. At that time Nepal was fighting a civil war against the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). During his third term as Prime Minister, his government was plagued by allegations of corruption. Following the massacre in the Royal Palace, Koirala was further criticized for his perceived inability to handle the crisis. Koirala resigned in July 2001 following which the military was mobilized in the civil war for the first time, something Koirala had unsuccessfully attempted to do while in office. He was replaced by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was elected by majority of members of Nepali Congress.

[edit] Fourth term

After the reinstatement of the Nepal House of Representatives, Pratinidhi Sabha, on 24 April 2006 following the Loktantra Andolan, Koirala was selected to become Prime Minister by the leaders of the Seven Party Alliance.

The reinstated house of representatives passed laws to strip the King of his powers and bring the Army under civilian control.

Following the promulgation of the interim constitution, Koirala, as the Prime Minister, has been the interim head of state of Nepal.

On 1 April 2007, Koirala was re-elected as Prime Minister to head a new government comprised of the SPA and the CPN (Maoists).

Following the April 2008 Constituent Assembly election, the Constituent Assembly voted to declare Nepal a republic on 28 May 2008. Koirala, speaking to the Constituent Assembly shortly before the vote, said that "we have a big responsibility now"; he said that Nepal was entering a "new era" and that "the nation's dream has come true".^[1]

[edit] References

v • d • e Prime Ministers of Nepal Damodar Pande • Rana Bahadur Shah Deva • Bhimsen Thapa • Rana Jang Pande • Ranga Nath Poudyal • Puskar Shah • Rana Jang Pande • Ranga Nath Poudyal • Fateh Jang Chautaria • Madhabar Singh Thapa • Fateh Jang Chautaria • Jang Bahadur • Bam Bahadur Kunwar Rana • Krishna Bahadur Kunwar Rana • Jang Bahadur • Ranaudip Singh • Bir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana • Deva Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana • Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana • Bhim Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana • Juddha Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana • Padma Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana • Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana • Matrika Prasad Koirala • vacant (1952-1953) • Matrika Prasad Koirala • vacant (1955-1956) • Tanka Prasad Acharya • Kunwar Indrajit Singh • Subarna Shamsher Rana • Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala • Tulsi Giri • Surya Bahadur Thapa • Tulsi Giri • Surya Bahadur Thapa • Kirti Nidhi Bista • vacant (1970-1971) • Kirti Nidhi Bista • Nagendra Prasad Rijal • Tulsi Giri • Kirti Nidhi Bista • Surya Bahadur Thapa • Lokendra Bahadur Chand • Nagendra Prasad Rijal • Marich Man Singh Shrestha • Lokendra Bahadur Chand • Krishna Prasad Bhattarai • Girija Prasad Koirala • Man Mohan Adhikari • Sher Bahadur Deuba • Lokendra Bahadur Chand • Surya Bahadur Thapa • Girija Prasad Koirala • Krishna Prasad Bhattarai • Sher Bahadur Deuba • vacant (2002) • Lokendra Bahadur Chand • Surya Bahadur Thapa • Sher Bahadur Deuba • vacant (2005-2006) • Girija Prasad Koirala