Prime Minister of Nepal
The prime minister of Nepal (Nepali: नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री, romanized: Nēpālakō pradhānamantrī) is the head of government of Nepal. Together with their Council of Ministers, the prime minister exercises executive power in the country.
For list of prime ministers, see List of prime ministers of Nepal.Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
The prime minister must enjoy the confidence in the Pratinidhi Sabha before being appointed by the president and shall resign if they are unable to retain the majority in the House.
The residence of the prime minister of Nepal is in Baluwatar, Kathmandu.[2][3] The seat of the prime minister is Singha Darbar since the time of Chandra Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana.[4]
The current prime minister is Pushpa Kamal Dahal from CPN (Maoist Center) since 25 December 2022. He was appointed by the President Bidhya Devi Bhandari as per Article 76(2) of the Constitution of Nepal.[5]
Introduction[edit]
The position of prime minister of Nepal (Nepali: नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री, romanized: Nēpālakō pradhānamantrī) in modern form was called by different names at different times of Nepalese history. At the time of the Shah dynasty, either Chautariya, Kaji or Mulkajis (Chief Kajis) served the function of prime ministers Abhiman Singh Basnyat was first Mulkaji appointed by Bahadur Shah at 1785-1794 after that his nephew Kirtiman Singh Basnyat was appointed as Mulkaji from 1794 – 1801 September after that his younger brother Bakhtawar Singh Basnyat was appointed as Mulkaji in 1801-1803 and after that Damodar Pandey became Mulkaji till February 1803 – March 1804. In 1804 the position of Mukhtiyar was created by Rana Bahadur Shah which carried executive powers of nation.[6] Mukhtiyar is formed from two words: Mukhya and Akhtiyar. Mukhya means Chief[7] and Akhtiyar means Authority.[8] Altogether it means the "executive head of the state". Mukhtiyar held the position of executive head till adoption of title of prime minister in 1843 A.D.[9] The first Mukhtiyar to title himself as prime minister, as per the British convention, was the last Mukhtiyar Mathabar Singh Thapa.[9] Mathabar Singh became Mukhtiyar as well as prime minister and Commander-In-Chief of the Nepalese army in November 1843 [10] by the declaration of second queen of Rajendra, Queen Rajya Laxmi Devi.[11][note 1] 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.
Earliest Prime Ministers[edit]
Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa was the first person to be referred to as prime minister by the British.[9] Similarly, historian Chittaranjan Nepali writes that the first institution to hold all state powers was the position of Mukhtiyar which was established after King Rana Bahadur Shah returned to Nepal from Varanasi. However, historians believe that Kaji Damodar Pande was the first person to hold power as a prime minister as the modern system of administration originated in Nepal with the emergence of Damodar Pande.[13] Damodar Pande was the most influential Kaji since the fall of regent Chautariya Bahadur Shah of Nepal from central power in April 1794 by his newly active nephew, King Rana Bahadur Shah.[14]
During the minority of the King Girvan Yuddha, Damodar Pande took over the administration as Mulkaji, or prime minister (1799–1804), with complete control over administration and the power to conduct foreign affairs. He set a significant precedent for later Nepalese history, which has seen a recurring struggle for effective power between king and prime minister. The main policy of Damodar Pande was to protect the young king by keeping his unpredictable father in Banaras and to play off against each other the schemes of the retired king's wives. By 1804 this policy had failed. The former king engineered his return and took over as mukhtiyar.[15][16]
Democratic rule and subsequent Panchayat rule; 1951–1990[edit]
Only a handful of Nepalese prime ministers have carried a democratic mandate. The first elected prime minister was B. P. Koirala, in 1959. After he was deposed and imprisoned in 1960, King Mahendra established the Panchayat system and the country did not have a democratic government until 1990.
Constitutional monarchy; 1990–2008[edit]
The country became a constitutional monarchy after the Jana Andolan(meaning People's movement).
Federal Democratic Republic; 2008–present[edit]
The monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the 1st Constituent Assembly, and the country was declared a federal democratic republic.
Powers[edit]
The prime minister has a more enhanced constitutional role than his counterparts in other parliamentary democracies. This is because Section 75 of the Constitution explicitly vests the executive power of the federal government in the Council of Ministers–of which the prime minister is the leader–not the president. In most other parliamentary republics, the president is at least the nominal chief executive, while being bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet. Per Section 76, the prime minister is the chairman of the Council of Ministers and thus exercises executive power collectively with the Council of Ministers.[65]
Appointment[edit]
Under part 7, Article 76, of the Constitution,[66] the president is required to appoint the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives as prime minister. If no party has a majority, the president is required to appoint an MP who has the support of a coalition of parties who between them have a majority in the chamber–in practice, the leader of the senior partner in such a coalition. If no majority coalition can be formed within 30 days of the final result of a parliamentary election, the president is required to appoint the leader of the largest party in the chamber. In the latter cases, the person appointed as prime minister must win a confidence vote within 30 days. However, if a confidence vote is unsuccessful, the president must appoint an MP who can demonstrate command the confidence of the House. In the event that no member can command the confidence of the House within 55 days of the announcement of the final results of the election, new elections must be held within six months.