List of heads of state of Nepal

The following is a list of the heads of state of Nepal, from the unification of the country and the founding of the Kingdom of Nepal in 1768, to the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in 2008.

The King of Nepal was the country's head of state from the unification and the establishment of the kingdom in 1768 to 2008. Since 2008, the head of state has been the President of Nepal after the abolition of monarchy and the establishment of a republic.

Kingdom of Nepal (1768–2008)

Nepal was ruled by monarchs of the Shah dynasty from 1768 till the abolition of monarchy in 2008. However, from 1846 until the 1951 revolution, the country was de facto ruled by the hereditary prime ministers of the Rana dynasty, reducing the role of the Shah monarch to that of a figurehead.{{Cite book|last1=J. Demy|first1=Timothy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vt-vDwAAQBAJ&q=Rana+dynasty+figurehead&pg=PA328|title=Religion and Contemporary Politics: A Global Encyclopedia [2 volumes]|last2=M. Shaw|first2=Jeffrey|date=19 September 2019|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-4408-3933-7|location=|pages=328|language=en|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126153607/https://books.google.com/books?id=vt-vDwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA328&dq=Rana+dynasty+figurehead&hl=en|archive-date=26 November 2020|url-status=live}} The monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the 1st Constituent Assembly.{{Cite web|title=Deposed Nepal king surrenders crown|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/11/nepal|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125155056/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/11/nepal|archive-date=25 November 2020|access-date=25 November 2020|website=The Guardian|date=11 June 2008|language=en}}{{Cite news|date=28 May 2008|title=Nepalese celebrate opening of new era and end of monarchy (Published 2008)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/world/asia/28iht-nepal.4.13283900.html|url-status=live|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125155135/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/world/asia/28iht-nepal.4.13283900.html|archive-date=25 November 2020|issn=0362-4331}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; border:1px #aaf solid; width:100%;"
rowspan="2" \| {{Abbr\|No.\|Number}} !rowspan="2" \| Portrait !rowspan="2" \| King {{small\|(Birth–Death)}} !colspan="3" \| Reign !rowspan="2" \| House !rowspan="2" \| Claim
Reign start ! Reign end ! Duration
1 \| 100px \| Prithvi Narayan Shah {{lang\|ne\|पृथ्वी नारायण शाह}} {{small\|(1723–1775)}} \| 25 September 1768 \| 11 January 1775 \| {{age in years and days\|1768\|9\|25\|1775\|1\|11}} \| Shah \| King of the Gorkha Kingdom since 1743
2 \| 100px \| Pratap Singh Shah {{lang\|ne\|प्रताप सिंह शाह}} {{small\|(1751–1777)}} \| 11 January 1775 \| 17 November 1777 \| {{age in years and days\|1775\|1\|11\|1777\|11\|17}} \| Shah \| Son of Prithvi Narayan Shah
3 \| 100px \| Rana Bahadur Shah {{lang\|ne\|रण बहादुर शाह}} {{small\|(1775–1806)}} \| 17 November 1777 \| 8 March 1799 {{small\|(abdicated)}} \| {{age in years and days\|1777\|11\|17\|1799\|3\|8}} \| Shah \| Son of Pratap Singh Shah
4 \| 100px \| Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|गीर्वाणयुद्ध विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1797–1816)}} \| 8 March 1799 \| 20 November 1816 \| {{age in years and days\|1799\|3\|8\|1816\|11\|20}} \| Shah \| Son of Rana Bahadur Shah
5 \| 100px \| Rajendra Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|राजेन्द्र विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1813–1881)}} \| 20 November 1816 \| 12 May 1847 {{small\|(abdicated)}} \| {{age in years and days\|1816\|11\|20\|1847\|5\|12}} \| Shah \| Son of Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah
6 \| 100px \| Surendra Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|सुरेन्द्र विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1829–1881)}} \| 12 May 1847 \| 17 May 1881 \| {{age in years and days\|1847\|5\|12\|1881\|5\|17}} \| Shah \| Son of Rajendra Bikram Shah
7 \| 100px \| Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|पृथ्वी वीर विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1875–1911)}} \| 17 May 1881 \| 11 December 1911 \| {{age in years and days\|1881\|5\|17\|1911\|12\|11}} \| Shah \| Grandson of Surendra Bikram Shah
8 \| 100px \| Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1906–1955)}} \| 11 December 1911 \| 7 November 1950 {{small\|(went into exile)}} \| {{age in years and days\|1911\|12\|11\|1950\|11\|7}} \| Shah \| Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah
9 \| 100px \| Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(born 1947)}} \| 7 November 1950 \| 7 January 1951 {{small\|(stepped down)}} \| {{age in years and days\|1950\|11\|7\|1951\|1\|7}} \| Shah \| Grandson of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah
{{small\|(8)}} \| 100px \| Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1906–1955)}} \| 7 January 1951 \| 13 March 1955 \| {{age in years and days\|1951\|1\|7\|1955\|3\|13}} \| Shah \| Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah
10 \| 100px \| Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1920–1972)}} \| 14 March 1955 \| 31 January 1972 \| {{age in years and days\|1955\|3\|14\|1972\|1\|31}} \| Shah \| Son of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah
11 \| 100px \| Birendra Bir Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1945–2001)}} \| 31 January 1972 \| 1 June 2001 {{small\|(assassinated)}} \| {{age in years and days\|1972\|1\|31\|2001\|6\|1}} \| Shah \| Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah
12 \| 100px \| Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|दीपेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(1971–2001)}} \| 1 June 2001 \| 4 June 2001 {{small\|(declared braindead)}} \| {{age in years and days\|2001\|6\|1\|2001\|6\|4}}{{efn\|Reigned whilst in a coma, following the royal massacre.}} \| Shah \| Son of Birendra Bir Bikram Shah
{{small\|(9)}} \| 100px \| Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah {{lang\|ne\|ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}} {{small\|(born 1947)}} \| 4 June 2001{{efn\|Served as regent for Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah, from 1–4 June 2001.}} \| 28 May 2008 {{small\|(deposed)}} \| {{age in years and days\|2001\|6\|4\|2008\|5\|28}} \| Shah \| Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; border:1px #aaf solid; width:100%;"

rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}

!rowspan="2" | Portrait

!rowspan="2" | King
{{small|(Birth–Death)}}

!colspan="3" | Reign

!rowspan="2" | House

!rowspan="2" | Claim

Reign start

! Reign end

! Duration

| 100px

| Prithvi Narayan Shah
{{lang|ne|पृथ्वी नारायण शाह}}
{{small|(1723–1775)}}

| 25 September 1768

| 11 January 1775

| {{age in years and days|1768|9|25|1775|1|11}}

| Shah

| King of the Gorkha Kingdom since 1743

| 100px

| Pratap Singh Shah
{{lang|ne|प्रताप सिंह शाह}}
{{small|(1751–1777)}}

| 11 January 1775

| 17 November 1777

| {{age in years and days|1775|1|11|1777|11|17}}

| Shah

| Son of Prithvi Narayan Shah

| 100px

| Rana Bahadur Shah
{{lang|ne|रण बहादुर शाह}}
{{small|(1775–1806)}}

| 17 November 1777

| 8 March 1799
{{small|(abdicated)}}

| {{age in years and days|1777|11|17|1799|3|8}}

| Shah

| Son of Pratap Singh Shah

| 100px

| Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|गीर्वाणयुद्ध विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1797–1816)}}

| 8 March 1799

| 20 November 1816

| {{age in years and days|1799|3|8|1816|11|20}}

| Shah

| Son of Rana Bahadur Shah

| 100px

| Rajendra Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|राजेन्द्र विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1813–1881)}}

| 20 November 1816

| 12 May 1847
{{small|(abdicated)}}

| {{age in years and days|1816|11|20|1847|5|12}}

| Shah

| Son of Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Surendra Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|सुरेन्द्र विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1829–1881)}}

| 12 May 1847

| 17 May 1881

| {{age in years and days|1847|5|12|1881|5|17}}

| Shah

| Son of Rajendra Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|पृथ्वी वीर विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1875–1911)}}

| 17 May 1881

| 11 December 1911

| {{age in years and days|1881|5|17|1911|12|11}}

| Shah

| Grandson of Surendra Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1906–1955)}}

| 11 December 1911

| 7 November 1950
{{small|(went into exile)}}

| {{age in years and days|1911|12|11|1950|11|7}}

| Shah

| Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(born 1947)}}

| 7 November 1950

| 7 January 1951
{{small|(stepped down)}}

| {{age in years and days|1950|11|7|1951|1|7}}

| Shah

| Grandson of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1906–1955)}}

| 7 January 1951

| 13 March 1955

| {{age in years and days|1951|1|7|1955|3|13}}

| Shah

| Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1920–1972)}}

| 14 March 1955

| 31 January 1972

| {{age in years and days|1955|3|14|1972|1|31}}

| Shah

| Son of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Birendra Bir Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1945–2001)}}

| 31 January 1972

| 1 June 2001
{{small|(assassinated)}}

| {{age in years and days|1972|1|31|2001|6|1}}

| Shah

| Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|दीपेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(1971–2001)}}

| 1 June 2001

| 4 June 2001
{{small|(declared braindead)}}

| {{age in years and days|2001|6|1|2001|6|4}}{{efn|Reigned whilst in a coma, following the royal massacre.}}

| Shah

| Son of Birendra Bir Bikram Shah

| 100px

| Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah
{{lang|ne|ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह}}
{{small|(born 1947)}}

| 4 June 2001{{efn|Served as regent for Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah, from 1–4 June 2001.}}

| 28 May 2008
{{small|(deposed)}}

| {{age in years and days|2001|6|4|2008|5|28}}

| Shah

| Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah

=Transitional period (State of Nepal, 2007–2008)=

Under the interim constitution adopted in January 2007, all powers of governance were removed from the king, and the Constituent Assembly elected in 2008 was to decide in its first meeting whether to continue the monarchy or to declare a republic. During the suspension of the monarchy, Girija Prasad Koirala, then Prime Minister of Nepal, acted as the Head of State. On 28 May 2008, the Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy. Ram Baran Yadav was elected by the Constituent Assembly, and was sworn in as the nation's first president on 23 July 2008.

Status:

{{legend2|#E6E6AA|Denotes Acting Head of State|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{Officeholder table start

| showorder = y

| showimage = y

| showtermlenght = y

| officeholder_title = Name

}}

{{Officeholder table

| order2 = –

| officeholder = Girija Prasad Koirala

| officeholder_altname = {{lang|ne|गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइराला}}

| image = The Prime Minister of Nepal, Shri Girija Prasad Koirala being seen off by the Union Minister of Water Resources, Prof. Saif-ud-din Soz at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on April 06, 2007 (cropped).jpg |bSize = 100

| officeholder_note =

| born_year = 1925

| died_year = 2010

| term_start = 15 January 2007

| term_end = 23 July 2008

| timeinoffice = {{Age in years and days|2007|1|15|2008|7|23}}{{efn|Simultaneously served as Prime Minister, from 25 April 2006 – 18 August 2008.}}

| acting = y

| alt_party = Nepali Congress

}}

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (2008–present)

{{Officeholder table start

| showorder = y

| showimage = y

| showtermlenght = y

| showelection = y

| officeholder_title = President

| party_col = 1

| note = y

}}

{{Officeholder table

| order2 = 1

| officeholder = Ram Baran Yadav

| officeholder_altname = {{lang|ne|रामवरण यादव}}

| image = Ram Baran Yadav, portrait (August 2014).jpg |bSize = 100

| officeholder_sort = Yadav, Ram Baran

| officeholder_note =

| born_year = 1948

| died_year =

| term_start = 23 July 2008

| term_end = 29 October 2015

| timeinoffice = {{Age in years and days|2008|7|23|2015|10|29}}

| election = 2008

| alt_party = Nepali Congress

}}

{{Officeholder table

| order2 = 2

| officeholder = Bidya Devi Bhandari

| officeholder_altname = {{lang|ne|विद्यादेवी भण्डारी}}

| image = Shinzo Abe and Bidhya Devi Bhandari at the Enthronement of Naruhito (1) cropped.jpg |bSize = 100

| officeholder_sort = Bhandari, Bidya Devi

| officeholder_note =

| born_year = 1961

| died_year =

| term_start = 29 October 2015

| term_end = 13 March 2023

| timeinoffice = {{Age in years and days|2015|10|29|2023|3|13}}

| election = 2015
2018

| alt_party = Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)

}}

{{Officeholder table

| order2 = 3

| officeholder = Ram Chandra Poudel

| officeholder_altname = {{lang|ne|राम चन्द्र पौडेल}}

| image = President Ram Chandra Poudel, Official portrait (January 2024).jpg |bSize = 100

| officeholder_sort = Poudel, Ram Chandra

| officeholder_note =

| born_year = 1944

| died_year =

| term_start = 13 March 2023

| timeinoffice = {{Age in years and days|2023|3|13}}

| election = 2023

| alt_party = Nepali Congress

}}

Timeline

{{#tag:timeline|

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Colors =

id:ind value:gray(0.9) legend:None_(Independent)

id:Shah value:gray(0.6) legend:House_of_Shah

id:CPN value:rgb(1,0,0) legend:Communist_Party_of_Nepal_(UML)

id:NC value:rgb(0,0.6,0) legend:Nepali_Congress

id:liteline value:gray(0.8)

id:line value:rgb(0.3,0.3,0.3)

id:bg value:white

DateFormat = yyyy

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ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1770

ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:2 start:1768

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Define $now = {{#time:Y|-3 hours}}

TextData =

pos:(20,36) textcolor:black fontsize:s

text:"Political affiliation:"

BarData =

bar:P.N.Shah

bar:P.S.Shah

bar:Rana.B.Shah

bar:G.Y.Shah

bar:Rajendra.B.Shah

bar:S.B.Shah

bar:P.B.B.Shah

bar:T.B.B.Shah

bar:G.B.B.Shah

bar:M.B.B.Shah

bar:B.B.B.Shah

bar:D.B.B.Shah

bar:Koirala

bar:Yadav

bar:Bhandari

bar:Poudel

PlotData=

width:7 align:left fontsize:s shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

bar:P.N.Shah

from: 1768 till: 1775 color:Shah text:"Prithvi Narayan Shah"

bar:P.S.Shah

from: 1775 till: 1777 color:Shah text:"Pratap Singh Shah"

bar:Rana.B.Shah

from: 1777 till: 1799 color:Shah text:"Rana Bahadur Shah"

bar:G.Y.Shah

from: 1799 till: 1816 color:Shah text:"Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah"

bar:Rajendra.B.Shah

from: 1816 till: 1847 color:Shah text:"Rajendra Bikram Shah"

bar:S.B.Shah

from: 1847 till: 1881 color:Shah text:"Surendra Bikram Shah"

bar:P.B.B.Shah

from: 1881 till: 1911 color:Shah text:"Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah"

bar:T.B.B.Shah

from: 1911 till: 1950 color:Shah

from: 1951 till: 1955 color:Shah text:"Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah"

bar:G.B.B.Shah

from: 1950 till: 1951 color:Shah

from: 2001 till: 2008 color:Shah text:"Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah"

bar:M.B.B.Shah

from: 1955 till: 1972 color:Shah text:"Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah"

bar:B.B.B.Shah

from: 1972 till: 2001 color:Shah text:"Birendra Bir Bikram Shah"

bar:D.B.B.Shah

from: 2001 till: 2001 color:Shah text:"Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah"

bar:Koirala

from: 2007 till: 2008 color:NC text:"Girija Prasad Koirala (acting)"

bar:Yadav

from: 2008 till: 2015 color:NC text:"Ram Baran Yadav"

bar:Bhandari

from: 2015 till: 2023 color:CPN text:"Bidhya Devi Bhandari"

bar:Poudel

from: 2023 till: $now color:NC text:"Ram Chandra Poudel"

}}

Notes

References

External links

[http://rulers.org/ruln1.html#nepal List of Nepali heads of state and government]
[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Nepal.html World Statesmen - Nepal]

Nepal

heads of state

List of heads of state of Nepal

Kingdom of Nepal (1768–2008)

=Transitional period (State of Nepal, 2007–2008)=

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (2008–present)

Timeline

See also

Notes

References

External links