Liberal democrat takes charge as Nepalese premier

KATHMANDU, May 23 Kyodo -
Nepal's new Premier Madhav Kumar Nepal, elected by a majority in the 601-member
parliament Saturday, is known as a liberal democrat.
Despite being from a Communist party, Nepal, 56, has always favored periodic
national elections and multiparty politics.
And his party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), has the
best democratic practice among all political parties in the country.
Born March 6, 1953, Nepal has a Bachelor in Commerce degree from Tribhuvan
University.
He worked in the banking sector between 1968 and 1974, during time he
increasingly became interested in Communist politics.
He formally joined party politics by getting a membership in 1969 even though
political parties were illegal and the country was governed by an absolute
monarch.
In 1976, Nepal was arrested under the Treason Act for his engagement in
politics and was imprisoned for two years.
But he became a member of the Central High Command that marshaled hundreds of
thousands of protestors in 1990 that forced then King Birendra to give up
absolute power and agree to a constitutional monarchy.
Nepal also played pivotal role in peaceful protests in 2006 that forced then
King Gyanendra to relinquish all executive authority.
Nepal was elected his party's general secretary in May 1993 and held the
position for 15 years, being reelected in 1998 and 2003.
But he resigned in April 2008 on ''moral grounds'' after his party took an
unexpected defeat in the assembly election.
Nepal lost personal election in two constituencies to Maoist candidates who had
little or no public recognition and his party was reduced to the third largest
in the assembly after the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and Nepali
Congress.
He returned from the political hinterlands by becoming an assembly member after
one his party members resigned in January.
Since then, Nepal headed the assembly's Constitutional Committee, the most
powerful and important committee of the assembly tasked with writing a new
constitution.
Nepal's previous top post was deputy prime minister in 1995 in a government
that lasted for just nine months.
After resignation of Maoist leader Prachanda as prime minister on May 4 this
year, Nepal emerged as the top candidate owing to his decades of contribution
to Nepalese democracy and its peace process, as well as to his clean image.
Girija Prasad Koirala, leader of Nepali Congress, did not show interest in
becoming premier again -- he has led nearly half a dozen governments -- owing
to failing health.
Nepal became prime minister with the support of 22 out of 24 political parties
represented in the parliament.
Nepal, who always argued for a peaceful and political solution to the Maoist
insurgency that ravaged the country's rural areas for a decade until 2006, is
still in favor of cooperation among all parties and even hopes the Maoists will
join his government.
''We would be happy to have the Maoists on board the government,'' Nepal said.
''The country is going through transition. Everyone's cooperation is
essential.''
==Kyodo