Bishnu Prasad Paudel

{{Short description|Nepali politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix = Honourable

| honorific_suffix = MP

| name = Bishnu Prasad Paudel

| native_name = {{nobold|विष्णुप्रसाद पौडेल}}

| image = Bishnu Prasad Paudel.jpg

| office = Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal

| alongside = Prakash Man Singh

| term_start = 15 July 2024

| term_end =

| president = Ram Chandra Poudel

| primeminister = Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

| predecessor = Raghubir Mahaseth
Narayan Kaji Shrestha
Rabi Lamichhane
Upendra Yadav {{small|(until 13 May 2024)}}

| successor =

| alongside1 = Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Rabi Lamichhane and Rajendra Prasad Lingden

| term_start1 = 26 December 2022

| term_end1 = 27 February 2023

| president1 = Bidhya Devi Bhandari

| primeminister1 = Pushpa Kamal Dahal

| predecessor1 = himself
Rajendra Mahato
Raghubir Mahaseth

| alongside2 = Rajendra Mahato and Raghubir Mahaseth

| successor1 = Purna Bahadur Khadka

| term_start2 = 4 June 2021

| term_end2 = 22 June 2021

| primeminister2 = Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

| president2 = Bidya Devi Bhandari

| predecessor2 = Ishwar Pokhrel Upendra Yadav
{{small|(until 24 December 2019)}}

| successor2 = himself
Rajendra Mahato
Raghubir Mahaseth

| office3 = Minister of Finance of Nepal

| term_start3 = 15 July 2024

| term_end3 =

| president3 = Ram Chandra Poudel

| primeminister3 = Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

| predecessor3 = Barshaman Pun

| successor3 =

| term_start4 = 26 December 2022

| term_end4 = 27 February 2023

| president4 = Bidhya Devi Bhandari

| primeminister4 = Pushpa Kamal Dahal

| predecessor4 = Janardan Sharma

| successor4 = Prakash Sharan Mahat

| term_start5 = 14 October 2020

| term_end5 = 12 July 2021

| president5 = Bidya Devi Bhandari

| primeminister5 = Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

| predecessor5 = Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada

| successor5 = Janardan Sharma

| term_start6 = 5 November 2015

| term_end6 = 1 August 2016

| president6 = Bidya Devi Bhandari

| primeminister6 = Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

| predecessor6 = Dr. Ram Saran Mahat

| successor6 = Krishna Bahadur Mahara

| office7 = Minister of Home Affairs of Nepal

| term_start7 = 24 June 2021

| term_end7 = 12 July 2021

| president7 = Bidya Devi Bhandari

| primeminister7 = Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

| predecessor7 = Khagaraj Adhikari

| successor7 = Bal Krishna Khand

| office8 = Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies of Nepal

| term_start8 = 24 June 2021

| term_end8 = 12 July 2021

| president8 = Bidya Devi Bhandari

| primeminister8 = Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

| predecessor8 = Raj Kishor Yadav

| successor8 = Gajendra Bahadur Hamal

| office9 = Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation of Nepal

| term_start9 = 24 June 2021

| term_end9 = 12 July 2021

| president9 = Bidya Devi Bhandari

| primeminister9 = Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli

| predecessor9 = Sharat Singh Bhandari

| successor9 = Pampha Bhusal

| office10 = Minister of Defence

| term_start10 = 6 February 2011

| term_end10 = 29 August 2011

| president10 = Ram Baran Yadav

| primeminister10 = Jhala Nath Khanal

| predecessor10 = Bidya Devi Bhandari

| successor10 = Baburam Bhattarai

| office11 = Minister for Water Resources of Nepal

| term_start11 = 18 August 2008

| term_end11 = 25 May 2009

| president11 = Ram Baran Yadav

| primeminister11 = Pushpa Kamal Dahal

| predecessor11 = Chitra Lekha Yadav

| successor11 = Prakash Sharan Mahat

| office12 =

| term_start12 = October 1994

| term_end12 = May 1999

| predecessor12 = Hari Nepal

| constituency12 = Palpa 3

| office13 = Member of the Constituent Assembly / Legislature Parliament

| term_start13 = 28 May 2008

| term_end13 = 14 October 2017

| predecessor13 = Surya Prasad Pradhan {{small|(as MP)}}

| constituency13 = Rupandehi 4

| office14 = Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha

| term_start14 = 18 March 2018

| constituency14 = Rupandehi-2

| party = CPN (UML) {{small|(before 2018; 2021-present)}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|11|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Syangja, Nepal

| parents =

| nationality = Nepali

| spouse =

| website = {{URL|https://bishnuprasadpaudel.com}}

| otherparty = Nepal Communist Party (NCP) {{small|(2018-2021)}}

| caption = Paudel in 2020

| native_name_lang = ne

}}

Bishnu Prasad Paudel ({{langx|ne|विष्णुप्रसाद पौडेल}}) is a Nepalese politician, who is the vice-chairman of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist).{{Cite web |title=Central Secretariat of CPN (UML)|url=https://cpnuml.org/committee/central_secretariat|access-date=26 December 2022 |website=CPN (UML) Official Site|language=English}} Paudel served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the Third Dahal cabinet.{{Cite web |title=Dahal sworn in as prime minister|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2022/12/26/dahal-sworn-in-as-prime-minister |access-date=26 December 2022 |website=The Kathmandu Post |language=English}}

He has earlier served as Deputy Prime Minister (2021), and headed other prominent Ministries such as Finance (2020-2021, 2015-2016), Home Affairs (2021), Industry (2021), Water (2021, 2008-2009, 1994-1999) and Defence (2011).

He is a member of the House of Representatives elected from Rupandehi district, Parliamentary Constituency 2, in the election of the Federal Parliament held in 2017. He won the election with a huge margin of 22,000 votes at that time. During the second Constituent Assembly Election in 2013, he defeated the former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai from Rupendehi 4.{{cite web|title=Bishnu Paudel wins Baburam Bhattarai| url=http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2013-11-22/bishnu-poudel-wins-baburam-bhattarai-loses-in-rupandehi-4.html|accessdate=22 November 2013}}

Paudel previously successfully served as the Minister of Finance from 5 November 2015 to 1 August 2016 in the first cabinet of prime minister KP Sharma Oli. He also served as Minister of Defence from 6 February 2011 to 29 August 2011, under prime minister Jhala Nath Khanal and as the Minister for Water Resources from 18 August 2008 to 25 May 2009 under prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. He has also served as the Minister for Youth, Sports and Culture in 1997 under prime minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand.