Sher Bahadur Deuba

Sher Bahadur Deuba(Nepali: शेर बहादुर देउवा pronounced Listen ; born 13 June 1946) is a Nepalese politician who served as Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997, from 2001 to 2002, and from 2004 to 2005, and from 2017 to 2018.[1] He is also the President of Nepali Congress, elected with more than 60% of the votes at the party's 13th Convention in 2016. He has twice been elected as the leader of parliamentary party of the Nepali Congress, thus enabling him to be elected twice as the Prime Minister of Nepal.

Sher Bahadur Deuba with the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee

Sher Bahadur Deuba
शेरबहादुर देउवा
32nd Prime Minister of Nepal
In office 7 June 2017 – 15 February 2018
President	Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Preceded by	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Succeeded by	Khadga Prasad Oli
In office 3 September 2004 – 1 February 2005
Monarch	King Gyanendra
Preceded by	Surya Bahadur Thapa
Succeeded by	Girija Prasad Koirala
In office 26 July 2001 – 4 October 2002
Monarch	King Gyanendra
Preceded by	Girija Prasad Koirala
Succeeded by	Lokendra Bahadur Chand
In office 12 September 1995 – 12 March 1997
Monarch	King Birendra
Preceded by	Man Mohan Adhikari
Succeeded by	Lokendra Bahadur Chand
President of the Nepali Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 March 2016
Preceded by	Sushil Koirala
Personal details
Born	(1946-06-13) 13 June 1946 Ashigram, Kingdom of Nepal
Political party	Nepali Congress (Before 2002; 2007–present)
Other political affiliations	Nepali Congress-Democratic (2002–2007)
Spouse(s)	Arzu Rana Deuba
Education	London School of Economics Tribhuvan University
Signature

He was elected Prime Minister for the second time when he succeeded Girija Prasad Koirala who resigned in July 2001. Deuba dissolved the House of Representatives in May 2002 in order to hold new elections, but was unable to do so due to the ongoing civil war. This also led to a split in Nepali Congress with Deuba spearheading the Nepali Congress (Democratic) party. King Gyanendra then removed Deuba in October 2002 terming him incompetent[2][3] for not holding parliamentary elections. After two other governments, Gyanendra restored Deuba to the position of Prime Minister in 2004. He was again removed from office on February 1, 2005 by King Gyanendra, who dissolved the government for three years and seized direct power.

Sher Bahadur Deuba with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi

Deuba was sentenced to two years in prison in July 2005 under corruption charges but was subsequently released on 13 February 2006 after the anti-corruption body that sentenced him was outlawed. An official from Deuba's Nepali Congress (Democratic) party, Dip Kumar Upadhaya, told the Associated Press that Deuba's release was "a victory for democracy and a humiliating defeat for the royal regime".[4]

Political career

Sher Bahadur Deuba with Ram Nath Kovind

Sher Bahadur Deuba has been elected as a Member of Parliament three times, representing Dadeldhura District. Following street protests against the UML government of Man Mohan Adhikari, he was declared the Parliamentary Leader of Nepali Congress in 1994.

Sher Bahadur Deuba with The former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh

In the election held to select the Parliamentary Leader for Nepali Congress following the resignation of G. P. Koirala, in 2001, he defeated Sushil Koirala by a huge margin. This victory established him as a powerful leader, especially because his rival was supported by G. P. Koirala, the president of Nepali Congress.

However, in 2009, he lost the election for the position of the Leader of the Parliamentary Party of the Nepali Congress to Ram Chandra Paudel. His loss was attributed to his support for party leader G. P. Koirala, who wanted his daughter, Sujata Koirala, to lead the party.

Personal life

Deuba comes from Ganyapdhura Gaupalika Ward No. 01 previously known as (Asigram - 3), Dadeldhura, one of the most remote district in the Far West Region of Nepal.[5]. He has six brothers, including Sher Bahadur, who is the eldest.

Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba with the Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu

He is married to Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba.[6]

In November 2016, Deuba was conferred an honorary doctorate degree by Jawaharlal Nehru University.[7]

Deuba has a Master's Degree in Political Science and he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Arts and Law.

Nepali Congress (Democratic)

After dispute between Girija Prasad Koirala, President of Nepali Congress and Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Prime Minister, over continuation of Emergency Situation in Nepal, Nepali Congress underwent vertical split into Nepali Congress led by Koirala and Nepali Congress (Democratic) led by Deuba. Both parties ultimately merged in 2007 with the name of unified party to remain as Nepali Congress.

2008 Constituent Assembly election

In the Constituent Assembly election held on 10 April 2008, the Nepali Congress nominated Deuba as its candidate for Dadeldhura and Kanchanpur-4 constituencies under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.[8] He won from both the constituencies.

In the subsequent vote for Prime Minister, held in the Constituent Assembly on 15 August 2008, Deuba was nominated by the Nepali Congress, but was defeated by Prachanda of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Deuba received 113 votes, while Prachanda received 464.[9]

2017 - present

He was sworn in as Prime Minister of Nepal on 7 June 2017.[10][11] Deuba was in charge of the government that successfully conduct the elections of all three levels (Parliamentary, Provincial and Local) in different phases in 2017. After a successful tenure, he resigned on 15 February 2018, paving way for KP Oli to take upon the premiership, after Nepali Congress faced a humiliating result and the Nepal Communist Party emerged as the largest party in the 2017 Nepalese legislative election. The defeat has been attributed to the decision made to impeach Chief Justice Sushila Karki as well as the tepid response to the Indian blockade by the Nepali Congress.[12]

Socialist International

Deuba was elected as the Vice President of Socialist International during its Congress held in Athens, Greece from 30 June 2008 to 2 July 2008.[13]

See also

• List of Nepali political clans#Deuba / Rana Family
• Deuba cabinet, 2017

References

1. "Sher Bahadur Deuba elected 40th PM of Nepal". Retrieved 6 June 2017.
2. Bogue, Janet. "DEUBA DUBBED PRIME MINISTER; CONGRESS' KOIRALA OUT IN THE COLD". Wikileaks. Wikileaks. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
3. Bhattarai, Kamal Dev. "Can Nepal's New Prime Minister Avert a Crisis?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
4. "Former Nepal PM freed from jail". 14 February 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2018 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
5. "PM Deuba casts his vote in Dadeldhura". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
6. "Deuba elected as 40th Prime Minister of Nepal". My Republica. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
7. "Deuba conferred JNU's honorary doctorate degree". The Kathmandu Post. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
8. NC names FPTP candidates Archived 26 July 2007 at Archive.today
9. "Ex-rebels' chief chosen as Nepal's new PM", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 15 August 2008.
10. "Sher Bahadur Deuba sworn in as Prime Minister of Nepal". 7 June 2017.
11. "Sher Bahadur Deuba resigns, KP Oli to take over as Nepal PM". 15 February 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
12. Rimal, Pratik; Karki, Dilip Prakash. "Unraveling Nepali Congress's defeat". myRepublica. Retrieved 6 December 2018..
13. "PM-elect Deuba's Profile". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 26 September 2019.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Man Mohan Adhikari	Prime Minister of Nepal 1995–1997	Succeeded by Lokendra Bahadur Chand
Preceded by Girija Prasad Koirala	Prime Minister of Nepal 2001–2002	Succeeded by Lokendra Bahadur Chand
Preceded by Surya Bahadur Thapa	Prime Minister of Nepal 2004–2005	Succeeded by Girija Prasad Koirala
Preceded by Pushpa Kamal Dahal	Prime Minister of Nepal 2017–2018	Succeeded by KP Sharma Oli
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Chandrika Kumaratunga	Chair of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation 2002	Succeeded by Zafarullah Khan Jamali