Pushpa Kamal Dahal

"Prachanda" redirects here. For other uses, see Prachanda (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
पुष्पकमल दाहाल
Dahal in 2016
Leader of the Opposition
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 July 2024
PresidentRam Chandra Paudel
Prime MinisterKP Sharma Oli
Preceded bySher Bahadur Deuba
In office
11 February 2014 – 11 October 2015
PresidentRam Baran Yadav
Prime MinisterSushil Koirala
Preceded byRam Chandra Paudel
Succeeded bySushil Koirala
In office
25 May 2009 – 6 February 2011
PresidentRam Baran Yadav
Prime MinisterMadhav Kumar Nepal
Preceded byGirija Prasad Koirala
Succeeded byRam Chandra Paudel
33rd Prime Minister of Nepal
In office
26 December 2022 – 15 July 2024
President
Deputy
Preceded bySher Bahadur Deuba
Succeeded byKP Sharma Oli
In office
4 August 2016 – 7 June 2017
PresidentBidya Devi Bhandari
Deputy
Preceded byKhadga Prasad Oli
Succeeded bySher Bahadur Deuba
In office
15 August 2008 – 25 May 2009
PresidentRam Baran Yadav
DeputyBamdev Gautam
Preceded byGirija Prasad Koirala
Succeeded byMadhav Kumar Nepal
Senior party positions
Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Centre)
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 March 2021
Preceded byPosition re-established
In office
1994–2018
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished[a]
Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party
In office
17 May 2018 – 8 March 2021
Serving with KP Sharma Oli
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Parliamentary offices
Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office
22 December 2022
Preceded byBaburam Bhattarai
ConstituencyGorkha 2
In office
4 March 2018 – 18 September 2022
Preceded byKrishna Bhakta Pokharel
Succeeded byBikram Pandey
ConstituencyChitwan 3
Member of the Constituent Assembly / Legislature Parliament
In office
21 January 2014 – 14 October 2017
Preceded byMahendra Paswan
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
ConstituencySiraha 5
In office
28 May 2008 – 28 May 2012
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byRajendra Kumar KC
ConstituencyKathmandu 10
Personal details
Born
Ghanashyam Dahal

(1954-12-11) 11 December 1954 (age 69)
Lewade, Dhikur Pokhari VDC, Pokhara, Nepal
Political partyCPN (Maoist Centre) (1994–2018; 2021–present)
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
Sita Poudel
​
​
(m. 1969; died 2023)​
Children4, including Renu
Alma materInstitute of Agriculture and Animal Science,Tribhuvan University
Websitecmprachanda.com Edit this at Wikidata
NicknamePrachanda

Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Nepali: पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born Ghanashyam Dahal, 11 December 1954), alias Prachanda (Nepali: प्रचण्ड, pronounced [prʌˈt͡sʌɳɖʌ], transl. "fierce"), is a Nepalese politician, currently serving as the Leader of the Opposition, since July 2024. He has served as the Prime Minister of Nepal on three separate occasions, from 2008 to 2009 as the first prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, from 2016 to 2017, and again from 2022 to 2024.[1][2]

Having been drawn to left-wing politics after seeing severe poverty during his youth, Dahal joined the Communist Party of Nepal (Fourth Convention) in 1981, and later became general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) in 1989.[3][4][5] This party later became the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Dahal was the leader of the CPN (M) during the country's civil war and subsequent peace process and the 1st Nepalese constituent assembly. In the 2008 elections, CPN(M) emerged as the largest party, and Dahal became prime minister in August of that year.[6] He resigned from the post on 4 May 2009, after his attempt to sack the then army chief, Rookmangud Katawal, was opposed by then President Ram Baran Yadav.[7] Dahal was sworn in as prime minister for a second time in 2016, as per an agreement to form a rotational government with the Nepali Congress, and resigned on 24 May 2017 to make way for Congress' Sher Bahadur Deuba.[8] Following the 2022 general election, Dahal was sworn in as prime minister again in December 2022, with support from a coalition of parties including CPN (UML), Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party.[9] Dahal remained in power for 19 months, changing alliances between the UML and Congress three times, before he was ousted by a failed motion of confidence in the parliament on 12 July 2024.[10]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Dahal elected 39th prime minister of Nepal". kathmandupost.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' becomes Nepal's new PM". The Indian Express. 25 December 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ [1] Archived 3 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Mahendra Lawoti and Anup K. Pahadi, ed. (2010). The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal: Revolution in the twenty-first century. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-77717-9.
  6. ^ "IPU PARLINE database: NEPAL (Sambidhan Sabha) ELECTIONS IN 2008". archive.ipu.org. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  7. ^ "कटवालको आत्मकथा पढ्दा". Setopati. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' Resigns As Nepal Prime Minister". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Dahal sworn in as prime minister". kathmandupost.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Prime Minister Dahal loses vote of confidence in House". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.