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Sushil Koirala

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Rastra Gaurav
Sushil Prasad Koirala
सुशील प्रसाद कोइराला
Koirala in 2014
37th Prime Minister of Nepal
In office
11 February 2014 – 11 October 2015
PresidentRam Baran Yadav
Preceded byKhil Raj Regmi (Acting)
Succeeded byKhadga Prasad Sharma Oli
President of the Nepali Congress
In office
22 September 2010 – 9 February 2016
Preceded byGirija Prasad Koirala
Succeeded bySher Bahadur Deuba
Member of the House of Representatives for Banke–2
In office
1991–1994
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byShanti SJB Rana
In office
1999–2008
Preceded byShanti SJB Rana
Succeeded byMohammad Estiyak Rai
(as member of the Constituent Assembly)
Member of the Constituent Assembly / Legislature Parliament
In office
21 January 2014 – 9 February 2016
Preceded bySarbadev Prasad Ojha
Succeeded byNanda Lal Roka Chhetri
(as member of the House of Representatives)
ConstituencyBanke–3
Personal details
Born(1939-08-12)12 August 1939
Biratnagar, Kingdom of Nepal
Died9 February 2016(2016-02-09) (aged 76)
Kathmandu, Nepal
NationalityNepali
Political partyNepali Congress
Parent(s)Bodh Prasad Koirala (father)
Kumudini Koirala (mother)
NicknameSushil Da (Nepali: सुशील दा)

Sushil Prasad Koirala (Nepali: सुशील कोइराला; 12 August 1931 – 9 February 2016) was a Nepalese politician and the Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 February 2014 to 10 October 2015.[1] He was also President of the Nepali Congress from 2010 to 2016, having earlier served in various capacities in the party.[2]

Early life

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Koirala was born to Bodh Prasad and Kumudini Koirala on 12 August 1939 in Biratnagar, the second-largest city of Nepal.[2] A member of the politically prominent Koirala family, he was the cousin (his mother was the sister of Krishna Prasad Koirala's wife) of former prime ministers Matrika Prasad Koirala, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala and Girija Prasad Koirala.[3]

Political career

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Koirala entered politics in 1954 inspired by the social-democratic ideals of the Nepali Congress. In 1958, he keenly participated in Bhadra Abagya Aandalon (Civil Disobedience Movement) launched by the Nepali Congress. In 1959, he actively involved himself in the party's objective of carrying out the democratic elections. The election saw Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala become the first elected prime minister of the country. However, King Mahendra planned and executed a coup in December 1960 and expelled the elected government led by B.P. Koirala. This resulted in the exile of several members of the Nepali Congress to India, which included Sushil Koirala. He remained in political exile in India for 16 years following the royal takeover of 1960. Koirala also spent three years in Indian prisons for his involvement in a plane hijacking in 1973.[4] While in exile, Koirala was the editor of Tarun in Varanasi, the official party publication. He has been a member of the Central Working Committee of the party since 1979 and was appointed General Secretary of the party in 1996 and Vice President in 1998.[citation needed]

In 2001, he lost the leadership ballot for Nepali Congress' parliamentary party to former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Koirala was appointed acting president of the party in 2008 by president Girija Prasad Koirala. The 12th general convention of the Nepali Congress, on 22 September 2010, elected him party president.[4]

The Nepali Congress emerged as the largest party in the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections under Koirala's leadership. He was elected leader of the Congress' parliamentary party securing 105 out of 194 votes against former prime minister Deuba's 89 votes, and on 10 February 2014, he was nominated as prime minister by the constituent assembly.[5][6] During his tenure as prime minister, his government was criticized for its slow aid response to the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.[7] A historic agreement among the country's four major political parties was also made that year, which paved the way for the promulgation of a new constitution.[8] Due his major role, he is also known as the "Father of the Constitution" Honouring a pledge to stand down as prime minister once the new constitution came into effect, Koirala resigned on 10 October 2015.[9] He sought re-election but was defeated by KP Sharma Oli, leader of Congress' former coalition partners, the CPN (UML).[10]

Electoral history

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Koirala was elected to the Pratinidhi Sabha from the Banke–2 constituency in 1991 and 1999, while he was defeated in 1994. He lost in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election from Banke–3, finishing third behind the candidates of the MJFN and the UCPN (Maoist).[11] He contested and won from both Banke–3 and Chitwan–4 in the 2013 Constituent Assembly election.[12] He later relinquished the Chitwan–4 seat and represented Banke–3 in the 2nd Constituent Assembly.[13]

Only the top two candidates are shown below.

1991 Pratinidhi Sabha Election

Banke–2[14]

Party Candidate Votes Status
Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala 14,409 Elected
CPN (UML) – 5,926 Lost
Result Congress win

1994 Pratinidhi Sabha Election

Banke–2[15]

Party Candidate Votes Status
RPP Shanti Shamsher Rana 15,711 Elected
Congress Sushil Koirala 10,222 Lost
Result RPP gain from Congress

1999 Pratinidhi Sabha Election

Banke–2[15]

Party Candidate Votes Status
Congress Sushil Koirala 15,256 Elected
CPN (ML) Rijwan Ahammad Sah 6,185 Lost
Result Congress gain from RPP

2008 Constituent Assembly Election

Banke–3[16]

Party Candidate Votes Status
MJF – Nepal Sarbadev Prasad Ojha 14,900 Elected
UCPN (Maoist) Parma Nanda Kurmi 6,970 Lost
Congress Sushil Koirala 5,969 Lost
Result MJFN gain from Congress

2013 Constituent Assembly Elections

Banke–3

Party Candidate Votes Status
Congress Sushil Koirala 10,753 Elected
RPP – Nepal Dhawal Shumsher Rana 8,809 Lost
Result Congress gain from MJFN

Chitwan–4

Party Candidate Votes Status
Congress Sushil Koirala 20,760 Elected
UCPN (Maoist) Chitra Bahadur Shrestha 10,739 Lost
Result Congress gain from UCPN(M)

2015 Parliamentary Prime Minister Election

Party Candidate Votes Status
CPN (UML) KP Sharma Oli 338 Elected
Congress Sushil Koirala 249 Lost
Result CPN (UML) gain from Congress

Personal life

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Koirala remained unmarried throughout his life and was known to live a simple life.[17] He was fondly known among his friends and supporters as 'Sushil daa'. Although Koirala was believed to have completed formal education with an Intermediate of Commerce (I. Comm.) degree from a college in India according to his sister-in-law, he refuted those claims and maintained to have only received informal education.

Illness and death

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A heavy smoker, Koirala was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in June 2014.[18] He died on 10 February 2016 at 12:50 AM of pneumonia in Kathmandu, at the age of 76.[19]

Bibliography

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  • Koirala, Sushil (2017). Dinesh Bhattarai (ed.). Nepal's Foreign Policy: From Expediency to Pragmatism. B.P. Koirala Memorial Trust.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Koirala elected new PM". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Personal Resume". Nepali Congress. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  3. ^ Parashar, Utpal (9 February 2016). "Nepali Congress looks at future without a Koirala at its helm". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b Bhattarai, Kamal Dev (10 February 2016). "ADIOS SUSHIL DA (1939-2016)". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Koirala elected as NC PP leader". My Republica. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  6. ^ Ghimire, Binod (3 January 2014). "For PMship, Koirala to be PP leader first". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  7. ^ Subramanian, Samanth (30 April 2015). "Anger rises in Nepal over government's response to earthquake". The National. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  8. ^ Jha, Prashant (9 February 2016). "Why Sushil Koirala leaves a contested legacy in Nepal". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Nepal's Koirala resigns as PM and seeks re-election". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Communist party leader elected as Nepal's new prime minister". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Ca Election report".
  12. ^ "Ca Election report". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Top leaders give up seats from Chitwan, Kailali, Kathmandu". The Kathmandu Post. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  14. ^ https://nepalresearch.org/politics/background/elections_old/election_1991_constituency_results_english.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  15. ^ a b "Finalised Constituencies With Top Two Candidates". Archived from the original on 5 March 2008.
  16. ^ "Ca Election report".
  17. ^ "Sushil shifts to GPK's apartment". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  18. ^ "Nepal PM Sushil Koirala has lung cancer". BBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  19. ^ "Ex-PM Sushil Koirala passes away". My Republica. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
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Party political offices
Preceded by President of the Nepali Congress
22 September 2010 – 9 February 2016 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Nepal
11 February 2014 – 10 October 2015 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Host leader of the SAARC summit
26–27 November 2014 		Succeeded by
TBA
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