The prime minister of Nepal is the head of government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and the chairperson of the Council of Ministers. Although the president of Nepal is the constitutional head of state, symbolizing the unity of the nation, in practice the executive authority is exercised by the prime minister and the Council of Ministers.
The prime minister is typically the leader of the political party (or coalition) that commands a majority in the House of Representatives (Pratinidhi Sabhā), the lower house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal. The prime minister and the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the Federal Parliament, specifically the House of Representatives. The prime minister must be a member of the House of Representatives. The prime minister ranks third in the Nepalese order of precedence, following the president and the vice president.
The prime minister leads the Council of Ministers and holds the chief executive authority in the country. The prime minister must command the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. Under Article 76 of the Constitution, the president appoints as prime minister the leader of the parliamentary party that commands a majority in the House of Representatives. If no single party holds a clear majority, the president appoints a member of the House who can command majority support with the backing of two or more parties. If that is not possible, the leader of the largest party is appointed, who must then secure a vote of confidence within 30 days.
The prime minister informs the president about resolutions of the Council of Ministers, bills to be introduced in Parliament, and other important matters including the general state of the country and foreign relations. The official residence of the prime minister is at Baluwatar, Kathmandu, while the Prime Minister's Office operates from Singha Durbar.
History of the office The position of prime minister of Nepal in its modern form has been known by different names throughout Nepalese history. During the early period of the Shah dynasty, the Mulkajis (Chief Kajis) or Chautariyas served as heads of the government in a council consisting of 4 Chautariyas, 4 Kajis, and other officers. These Bharadars (state officers) were drawn from aristocratic families such as the Pande, Basnyat, and Thapa families. The nobility of the Gorkha Kingdom was mainly composed of Chhetri, Brahmin, and Thakuri families, who held a strong presence in civil administration.
In 1804, a single authoritative position of Mukhtiyar was created by Rana Bahadur Shah, which carried the executive powers of the nation. The Mukhtiyar held the position of head of the executive until the adoption of the title of Prime Minister in November 1843 by Mathabar Singh Thapa who became Mukhtiyar as well as the prime minister and the chief of the Nepalese Army. During the Rana dynasty, the position of Prime Minister was hereditary and the officeholder held additional titles — Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Nepal and Grand Master of the Royal orders of Nepal.
After the 1950–1951 revolution, non-aristocratic citizens such as Matrika Prasad Koirala held the position of Prime Minister still under the authority of the King of Nepal. The first general election was held in 1959 and B. P. Koirala became the first elected Prime Minister of Nepal. However, he was deposed and imprisoned in the 1960 coup d'état by King Mahendra who went to establish the Panchayat system and Nepal did not return to democratic government until 1990. After the Jana Andolan movement in 1990, the Kingdom of Nepal became a constitutional monarchy, and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai became the Interim Prime Minister. However, this was interrupted by the 2005 coup d'état by King Gyanendra. After the Loktantra Andolan movement in 2006, the monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the 1st Constituent Assembly and Nepal was declared a federal parliamentary republic. The current Constitution of Nepal was adopted on 20 September 2015, with K. P. Sharma Oli serving as the first prime minister under the new constitution.
Between 1776 and 1951, a total of 24 individuals served as heads of government prior to the establishment of democracy. Of these, 20 were from the Chhetri community, including all 11 hereditary prime ministers of the Rana dynasty, as well as nine others from prominent aristocratic families such as the Pande, Basnyat, and Thapa families. The remaining four comprised two Thakuri of royal lineage (Chautariya), Pushkar Shah and Fateh Jung Shah, one Khas Brahmin, Ranga Nath Poudyal, whose father and grandfather were also prominent courtiers of the royal court (Kot), and one Magar, Sarbajit Rana Magar.
Since the end of the Rana regime and the introduction of democracy in 1951, a total of 25 individuals have held the office of Prime Minister. Of these, 24 have been men and one has been a woman. In terms of social background, 14 have been Khas Brahmin, 4 have been Khas Chhetri, 3 have been Khas Thakuri, 2 have been Newar, 1 have been Sanyasi/Dasnami, and 1 have been Madheshi.
Early administrative era (1776–1806) Portrait Name Term of office Title KingTook officeLeft office 1Vamsharaj Pande DewanPratap Singh Shah 2Swarup Singh Karki Dewan 3Sarbajit Rana Magar Kaji/MulkajiRana Bahadur Shah Vamsharaj Pande Dewan/Mantri–Nayak 4Abhiman Singh Basnyat Mulkaji —Bahadur Shah Mul–Chautariya (Regent) 5Kirtiman Singh Basnyat MulkajiGirvan Yuddha Bikram Shah 6Bakhtawar Singh Basnyat Mulkaji
Mulkajis and Mukhtiyars during the Shah expansion era (1803–1846) Portrait Name Term of office KingTook officeLeft office 1Damodar Pande February 1803 March 1804Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah —Rana Bahadur Shah 1804 25 April 1806 2Bhimsen Thapa 1806 July 1837Rajendra Bikram Shah 3Rana Jang Pande 1837 1837 4Ranga Nath Poudyal October 1837 August 1838 5Pushkar Shah October 1838 1839 Rana Jang Pande April 1839 1840 Ranga Nath Poudyal 1840 1840 6Fateh Jung Shah November 1840 January 1843 7Mathabar Singh Thapa November 1843 17 May 1845 Fateh Jung Shah September 1845 14 September 1846
Prime ministers during the Rana era (1846–1951) Portrait Name Term of office KingTook officeLeft officeDays 8Jung Bahadur Rana 15 September 1846 1 August 1856Surendra Bikram Shah 9Bam Bahadur Kunwar 1 August 1856 25 May 1857 —Krishna Bahadur Kunwar Rana 25 May 1857 28 June 1857 Jung Bahadur Rana 28 June 1857 25 February 1877 10Ranodip Singh Kunwar 27 February 1877 22 November 1885Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah 11Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 22 November 1885 5 March 1901 12Dev Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 5 March 1901 27 June 1901 13Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 27 June 1901 26 November 1929Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah 14Bhim Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 26 November 1929 1 September 1932 15Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 1 September 1932 29 November 1945 16 Padma Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 29 November 1945 30 April 1948 17Mohan Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 30 April 1948 12 November 1951
Prime ministers during the Transition era (1951–1960) Portrait Name Term of office Election(s) Political party Cabinet KingTook officeLeft officeDays 18Matrika Prasad Koirala 16 November 1951 14 August 1952—Nepali CongressM. P. Koirala ITribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah—Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah 14 August 1952 15 June 1953— Matrika Prasad Koirala 15 June 1953 14 April 1955—Rastriya Praja PartyM. P. Koirala IIMahendra Bir Bikram Shah—Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah 14 April 1955 27 January 1956— 19Tanka Prasad Acharya 27 January 1956 26 July 1957—Nepal Praja ParishadAcharya 20Kunwar Indrajit Singh 26 July 1957 15 November 1957United Democratic PartySingh—Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah 15 November 1957 15 May 1958— 21Subarna Shamsher Rana 15 May 1958 27 May 1959—Nepali CongressRana 22Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala 27 May 1959 15 December 19601959B. P. Koirala
Prime ministers during the partyless Panchayat era (1960–1990) Portrait Name Term of office KingTook officeLeft officeDays—Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah 15 December 1960 2 April 1963Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah 23Tulsi Giri 2 April 1963 23 December 1963 24Surya Bahadur Thapa 23 December 1963 26 February 1964 Tulsi Giri 26 February 1964 26 January 1965 Surya Bahadur Thapa 26 January 1965 7 April 1969 25Kirti Nidhi Bista 7 April 1969 13 April 1970 –Gehendra Bahadur Rajbhandari 13 April 1970 14 April 1971 Kirti Nidhi Bista 14 April 1971 16 July 1973Birendra Bir Bikram Shah 26Nagendra Prasad Rijal 16 July 1973 1 December 1975 Tulsi Giri 1 December 1975 12 September 1977 Kirti Nidhi Bista 12 September 1977 30 May 1979 Surya Bahadur Thapa 30 May 1979 12 July 1983 27Lokendra Bahadur Chand 12 July 1983 21 March 1986 Nagendra Prasad Rijal 21 March 1986 15 June 1986 28Marich Man Singh Shrestha 15 June 1986 6 April 1990 Lokendra Bahadur Chand 6 April 1990 19 April 1990
Prime ministers during the Constitutional monarchy (1990–2008) Portrait Name Term of office Election(s) Political party Cabinet KingTook officeLeft officeDays 29Krishna Prasad Bhattarai 19 April 1990 26 May 1991—Nepali CongressK. P. Bhattarai (Interim)Birendra Bir Bikram Shah 30Girija Prasad Koirala 26 May 1991 30 November 19941991G. P. Koirala I 31Man Mohan Adhikari 30 November 1994 12 September 19951994Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Adhikari 32Sher Bahadur Deuba 12 September 1995 12 March 1997Nepali CongressDeuba I Lokendra Bahadur Chand 12 March 1997 7 October 1997Rastriya Prajatantra PartyChand III Surya Bahadur Thapa 7 October 1997 15 April 1998Thapa IV Girija Prasad Koirala 15 April 1998 23 December 1998Nepali Congress G. P. Koirala II23 December 199831 May 1999G. P. Koirala III Krishna Prasad Bhattarai 31 May 1999 22 March 20001999K. P. Bhattarai Girija Prasad Koirala 22 March 2000 26 July 2001G. P. Koirala IVGyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Sher Bahadur Deuba 26 July 2001 4 October 2002Deuba II—Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah 4 October 2002 11 October 2002— Lokendra Bahadur Chand 11 October 2002 5 June 2003 —Rastriya Prajatantra PartyChand IV Surya Bahadur Thapa 5 June 2003 3 June 2004Thapa V Sher Bahadur Deuba 3 June 2004 1 February 2005Nepali Congress (Democratic)Deuba III—Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah 1 February 2005 25 April 2006— Girija Prasad Koirala 25 April 2006 1 April 2007—Nepali CongressG. P. Koirala V 1 April 2007 18 August 2008G. P. Koirala (Interim)Himself
Prime ministers of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (2008–present)
Under the Constituent Assembly framework Portrait Name Term of office Election(s) Political party Cabinet PresidentTook officeLeft officeDays 33Pushpa Kamal Dahal 18 August 2008 25 May 20092008Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)Dahal IRam Baran Yadav 34Madhav Kumar Nepal 25 May 2009 6 February 2011 Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Nepal 35Jhala Nath Khanal 6 February 2011 29 August 2011 Khanal 36Baburam Bhattarai 29 August 2011 14 March 2013Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)B. Bhattarai —Khil Raj Regmi 14 March 2013 11 February 2014—IndependentRegmi (Interim) 37Sushil Koirala 11 February 2014 12 October 20152013Nepali CongressS. Koirala 38K. P. Sharma Oli 12 October 2015 4 August 2016Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)Oli IBidya Devi Bhandari Pushpa Kamal Dahal 4 August 2016 7 June 2017Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)Dahal II Sher Bahadur Deuba 7 June 2017 15 February 2018Nepali CongressDeuba IV
Under the 2015 Constitution framework Key Took oath as Majority PM (Article 76, clause 1) Took oath as Coalition leader PM (Article 76, clause 2) Took oath as Minority PM (Article 76, clause 3) Took oath as PM (as any MP who may or may not be parliamentary party leader of their party) could muster enough votes for vote of confidence (Article 75, clause 5) Resigned and was discharged soon lost no-confidence motion and was discharged soon Discharged, as the Head of State appoints the next Prime Minister