Pushpa Kamal Dahal became Prime Minister on 18 August 2008.
Background Dahal 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 AssemblyCandidate's Name Party Votes Pushpa Kamal DahalCPN (Maoist)Sher Bahadur DeubaNepali CongressSource:
Cabinet S.N.PortfolioMinisterPartyAssumed officeLeft officePrime Minister 1Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 18 August 2008 25 May 2008Deputy Prime Minister2Minister for Home Affairs Bam Dev Gautam 18 August 2008 25 May 2009Cabinet Ministers 3 Minister for Finance Baburam Bhattarai 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 4 Minister for Foreign Affairs Upendra Yadav 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 5Minister for Defence Ram Bahadur Thapa 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 6Minister for Physical Planning and Works Bijay Kumar Gachhadar 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 7Minister for Water Resources Bishnu Prasad Paudel 18 August 2008 25 May 2009 8Minister for Information and Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 9Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Jay Prakash Gupta 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 10Minister for Industry Astalaxmi Shakya 18 August 2008 25 May 2009 11Minister for Law, Justice and Constituent Assembly Dev Gurung 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 12Minister for Commerce and Supplies Rajendra Mahato 18 August 2008 25 May 2009 13 Minister of Land Reform and Management Matrika Yadav 31 August 2008 25 March 2009Mahendra Paswan 25 March 2009 25 May 2009 14Minister for Minister of Youth and Sports Gopal Shakya 18 August 2008 25 May 2009 15Minister for General Administration Pampha Bhusal 31 August 2008 25 May 2009 16Minister for Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Hisila Yami 31 August 2008 25 May 2009 17Minister for Minister for Health and PopulationGiriraj Mani Pokharel 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 18Minister for Education Renu Kumari Yadav 22 August 2008 25 May 2009 19Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation Kiran Gurung 31 August 2008 25 May 2009 20Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Janardhan Sharma 31 August 2008 25 May 2009 21Minister for Culture and State Restructuring Gopal Kirati 31 August 2008 25 May 2009 22Minister for Local Development Ram Chandra Jha 31 August 2008 25 May 2009 23Minister for Labour and Transport Lekh Raj Bhatta 31 August 2008 25 May 2009 24Minister for Science and Technology Ganesh Shah 31 August 2008 25 May 2009 25 Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Ramcharan Chaudhari (Tharu) 25 March 2009 25 May 2009
Security Policy
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. 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.
Foreign Policy and Trips
Foreign Trips CountryAreas visitedDatesDetails / References1Beijing23–27 August 2008To attend 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. 2New Delhi, Bangalore14–18 September 2008Official visit3New York City20-30 September 2008Visited New York to participate in the United Nations General Assembly.4Oslo29–31 March 2009Official visit 5Helsinki1–3 April 2009Official 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.
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.
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.
Dahal also visited Norway and Finland at the invitation of the Norwegian and Finnish Prime Minister respectively. They discussed bilateral relations and development cooperation.
References