Sushila Karki Becomes Nepal’s First Woman Prime Minister
Sushila Karki Becomes Nepal’s First Woman Prime Minister
Former chief justice Sushila Karki is sworn in as Nepal's acting prime minister, the nation's first female head of state. Elections are slated for March 5, 2026 as leaders promise peace and close India-Nepal cooperation.
Sushila Karki, a former chief justice, was sworn in as Nepal's acting prime minister. After days of conjecture and behind-the-scenes negotiations, the ceremony, which took place at Nepal's Rashtrapati Bhawan, installed the nation's first female head of state. General elections were scheduled for March 5, 2026, after the oath-taking ceremony.
Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Rawat and Vice President Ram Sahay Yadav attended the swearing-in ceremony along with President Ramchandra Paudel and Prime Minister Karki. Naveen Srivastava, India's ambassador to Nepal, also met with the recently sworn-in prime minister and offered his congratulations.
"We welcome the formation of a new Interim Government in Nepal, led by Right Honourable Mrs Sushila Karki. We are hopeful that this would help in fostering peace and stability. As a close neighbour, a fellow democracy and a long term development partner, India will continue to work closely with Nepal for the well-being and prosperity of our two peoples and countries," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
President Ram Chandra Paudel, General Ashok Raj Sigdel, and members of the Generation Z protest movement, whose agitation had prompted former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign earlier in the week, reached a consensus on the decision, which was formally announced by the Office of the President. The events came after days of widespread demonstrations led by young Nepalese who were fed up with unemployment and corruption. At least 51 people were killed in those protests, which prompted a police crackdown this week and compelled Mr. Oli to leave.
Ms. Karki was not the only person taken into consideration, even though her name had been floating around for a few days as a potential popular candidate. Reports at one point claimed that the demonstrators were split, with some supporting Kulman Ghising, the engineer who is generally credited with putting an end to Nepal's power outages.
Balendra Shah, also known as Balen, is a 35-year-old politician, rapper, and mayor of Kathmandu whose popularity among urban youth has skyrocketed.
For many younger Nepalese, Ms. Karki, who was Nepal's first female chief justice from 2016 to 2017, is an uncompromising figure. She gained notoriety for standing firmly against corruption while she was on the bench.
But she did not have a smooth judicial career. The government filed an impeachment motion against her less than a year into her term as chief justice, a move that was generally interpreted as having political motivations. Public pressure caused that attempt to fail, but Ms. Karki was disillusioned by the incident and eventually resigned.
#NepalPolitics #SushilaKarki #InterimGovernment #NepalElection2026 #NepalNews
