Pushpa Kamal Dahal became Prime Minister on 18 August 2008.
 Dahal in 2009 | |
| First Premiership of Pushpa Kamal Dahal 18 August 2008 – 25 May 2009 | |
President | |
|---|---|
Cabinet | Dahal I |
Party | CPN (Maoist) |
| Singha Durbar | |
 Coat of Arms of Government of Nepal | |
Background
editDahal led the CPN (Maoist) into civil war in 1996. In 2006, a peace accord was signed between the maoists and government of Nepal. The maoists joined the Interim Government and a constituent assembly was elected in 2008. Dahal led Maoists became the largest political party and as such made a coalition with CPN (UML) and other parties.
| Constituent Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate's Name | Party | Votes | |
 Pushpa Kamal Dahal |
CPN (Maoist) | 464 / 601 | |
| Sher Bahadur Deuba | Nepali Congress | 113 / 601 | |
| Source:[1] | |||
Cabinet
edit| S.N. | Portfolio | Minister | Party | Assumed office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | ||||||
| 1 | Prime Minister | Pushpa Kamal Dahal[1] | CPN (Maoist) | 18 August 2008 | 25 May 2008 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister | ||||||
| 2 | Minister for Home Affairs | Bam Dev Gautam[2] | CPN (UML) | 18 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| Cabinet Ministers | ||||||
| 3 | Minister for Finance | Baburam Bhattarai | CPN (Maoist) | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 4 | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Upendra Yadav | MJF-N | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 5 | Minister for Defence | Ram Bahadur Thapa | CPN (Maoist) | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 6 | Minister for Physical Planning and Works | Bijay Kumar Gachhadar | MJF-N | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 7 | Minister for Water Resources | Bishnu Prasad Paudel | CPN (UML) | 18 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 8 | Minister for Information and Communication | Krishna Bahadur Mahara | CPN (Maoist) | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 9 | Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives | Jay Prakash Gupta | MJF-N | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 10 | Minister for Industry | Astalaxmi Shakya | CPN (UML) | 18 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 11 | Minister for Law, Justice and Constituent Assembly | Dev Gurung | CPN (Maoist) | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 12 | Minister for Commerce and Supplies | Rajendra Mahato | Sadbhavana | 18 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 13 | Minister of Land Reform and Management | Matrika Yadav | CPN (Maoist) | 31 August 2008 | 25 March 2009 | |
| Mahendra Paswan | CPN (Maoist) | 25 March 2009 | 25 May 2009 | |||
| 14 | Minister for Minister of Youth and Sports | Gopal Shakya | CPN (UML) | 18 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 15 | Minister for General Administration | Pampha Bhusal | CPN (Maoist) | 31 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 16 | Minister for Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation | Hisila Yami | CPN (Maoist) | 31 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 17 | Minister for Minister for Health and Population | Giriraj Mani Pokharel | Janamorcha | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 18 | Minister for Education | Renu Kumari Yadav | MJF-N | 22 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 19 | Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation | Kiran Gurung | CPN (UML) | 31 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 20 | Minister for Peace and Reconstruction | Janardhan Sharma | CPN (Maoist) | 31 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 21 | Minister for Culture and State Restructuring | Gopal Kirati | CPN (Maoist) | 31 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 22 | Minister for Local Development | Ram Chandra Jha | CPN (UML) | 31 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 23 | Minister for Labour and Transport | Lekh Raj Bhatta | CPN (Maoist) | 31 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 24 | Minister for Science and Technology | Ganesh Shah | CPN (United) | 31 August 2008 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 25 | Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare | Ramcharan Chaudhari (Tharu) | CPN (Maoist) | 25 March 2009 | 25 May 2009 | |
Security Policy
edit.jpg)
Integration of Maoist Fighters into Nepal Army couldn't be achieved. This was cited as one of the major reasons for removal of COAS Rookmangud Katwal.
In 2008, at least 81 fatalities occurred in violence attributed to militant groups and clashes in the Terai region, including a bomb blast in Rautahat District.[3] The Young Communist League (YCL), composed largely of former combatants, assumed quasi‑policing roles in some areas and was implicated in abductions, beatings, intimidation of political opponents.[4]
Foreign Policy and Trips
edit.jpg)
Upendra Yadav
22 August 2008 — 25 May 2009
Foreign Trips
edit| Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details / References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  China |
Beijing | 23–27 August 2008 | To attend 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. |
| 2 |  India |
New Delhi, Bangalore | 14–18 September 2008 | Official visit |
| 3 |  United States |
New York City | 20-30 September 2008 | Visited New York to participate in the United Nations General Assembly. |
| 4 |  Norway |
Oslo | 29–31 March 2009 | Official visit |
| 5 |  Finland |
Helsinki | 1–3 April 2009 | Official visit |
Dahal's first visit was to China. He met Chinese leaders including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. His visit marked a break from tradition of visiting India first.[5]
Dahal went to India on a state visit at the invitation of Indian PM Manmohan Singh in mid September. Dahal held bilateral talks on cooperation.[6]
Dahal visited US to attend UN general assembly and reiterated Nepal’s peace process and international cooperation. He also met US President George W. Bush.[7]
Dahal also visited Norway and Finland at the invitation of the Norwegian and Finnish Prime Minister respectively. They discussed bilateral relations and development cooperation.[8][9]
References
edit- 1 2 "Nepal assembly elects Prachanda as Prime Minister". The Economic Times. 2008-08-15. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ↑ "मन्त्री श्री बामदेव गौतमले कार्यभार सम्हाल्ने". rajpatra.dop.gov.np. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ↑ "At least three killed in bomb attack in Nepal's restive south".
- ↑ "World Report 2009 - Nepal".
- ↑ "Prachanda meets Chinese President, breaks tradition". The Times of India. 25 August 2008.
- ↑ "Joint Press Statement on Official Visit of Rt Hon'ble Pushpa Kamal Dahal to India". Ministry of External Affairs, India. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
- ↑ "Security Council Report: Nepal 2008" (PDF). Security Council Report. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
- ↑ "Nepali PM to leave for Europe _English_Xinhua". Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ↑ "Nepal–Finland". Embassy of Nepal in Copenhagen. Retrieved 28 March 2026.