Yadunath Khanal

{{Short description|Nepali diplomat, government minister, scholar and author}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}

{{Expand language|topic=|langcode=ne|otherarticle=यदुनाथ खनाल|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Yadunath Khanal

| native_name = यदुनाथ खनाल

| native_name_lang = ne

| honorific_prefix = Sardar

| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|08|12}}

| birth_place = Tanahun District, Kingdom of Nepal

| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|10|02|1913|08|12}}

| office = Ambassador of Nepal to China

| term_start = {{start date|1978}}

| term_end = {{end date|1982}}

| monarch = Birendra of Nepal

| office1 = Chairman of the Public Service Commission

| termstart1 = {{start date|1975}}

| termend1 = {{end date|1977}}

| monarch1 = Birendra of Nepal

| office2 = Ambassador of Nepal to the United States

| termstart2 = {{start date|1973|04|27}}

| termend2 = {{end date|1975|05}}

| monarch2 = Birendra of Nepal

| president2 = Richard Nixon

| office3 = Foreign Secretary of Nepal

| termstart3 = {{start date|1967}}

| termend3 = {{end date|1970}}

| monarch3 = Birendra of Nepal

| office4 = Ambassador of Nepal to India

| termstart4 = {{start date|1962}}

| termend4 = {{end date|1967}}

| monarch4 = Birendra of Nepal

}}

Sardar Yadu Nath Khanal (August 1913 – 2 October 2004) was a pioneer Nepali diplomat, government minister, scholar and author in the modern history of Nepal.

{{cite book

|last= Acharya

|first=Jaya Raj

|date=2002

|title=Yadunath Khanal (Jiwani ra Bichar)...Life and Thoughts of Yadunath Khanal, a Nepali diplomat.

|edition=1st

|language=ne

|isbn =9993322377

|url=http://ratnabooks.com/ytitledetails.php?isbn=9993322377

|access-date=26 July 2015 }}{{Cite web|last=Kumar Bhattarai|first=Madan|date=4 June 2021|title=Treatise on a Genius Par Excellence|url=https://kathmandupost.com/books/2021/06/04/treatise-on-a-genius-par-excellence|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103221644/https://kathmandupost.com/books/2021/06/04/treatise-on-a-genius-par-excellence|archive-date=3 November 2021|access-date=11 November 2021|website=kathmandupost.com|language=English}}

He is often regarded as the great pioneer to formulate the foreign policy of Nepal. Nepal is sandwiched between the two giants China and India. He was the diplomatic consultant to the government on external affairs since the time of Late King Mahendra to Late Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

He was born in Tanahun, Nepal. At an early age he migrated with his family to Kathmandu. Yadunath initially was an instructor at Tri Chandra College, Kathmandu. Later he entered into government service, serving as ambassador to China, India and the United States,{{cite news |title=Last of the mandarins |url=http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/2004/10/08/StateOfTheState/1898#.ULZRbtd559Y |work=Nepali Times |date=8 October 2004 |access-date=28 November 2012 }} and as foreign secretary.{{cite book |title=Mutual Security: The Case of India-Nepal |last=Thapliyal |first=Sangeeta |page=99 |year=1998 |publisher=Lancer Publishers }}{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUkPLL-yGCEC&dq=yadunath+khanal&pg=PA161|title=The Accidental Adventurer: Memoirs of the First Woman to Climb Mount McKinley|isbn=9780945397977|last1=Washburn|first1=Barbara|last2=Freedman|first2=Lew|year=2001}} He was the father of Udayraj Khanal, who is an eminent professor at Tribhuvan University.