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http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/16/maoist-revolution-leader-elected-1st-prime-ministe/and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PrachandaThe Maoist leader known as
Prachanda was overwhelmingly elected the first republican prime minister of Nepal Friday.
The election paves the way for the formation of a coalition government in one of the world's poorest nations, ending four months of political uncertainty that saw King Gyanendra ousted in May and the country's 240-year monarchy dissolved.
Prachanda, 53, whose moniker means "the fierce one," won 464 votes in the parliament. His rival, the three-time former prime minister and leader of the Nepali Congress Party, Sher Bahadur Deuba, received 113 votes.
Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, for 10 years led the Maoist insurgency still listed by the United States as a terrorist organization before transforming himself from a fiery revolutionary into a charismatic political leader.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, is covered with congratulatory floral garlands and the traditional red tika on his forehead after he easily was elected the first republican prime minster of Nepal on Friday.
Prachanda (
Nepali: प्रचण्ड, IPA:
[pɾəʦəɳɖə]; born Pushpa Kamal Dahal on
December 11,
1954) is the current
Prime Minister of
Nepal.
[1] A
communist revolutionary, politician, and former
guerrilla leader, he is the leader of the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN (M)), the largest political party in Nepal, and leader of People's Liberation Army (PLA), the military wing of the CPN (M). Under his leadership, the CPN (M) launched the
Nepalese People's War on
February 13,
1996, in which about 13,000 Nepalis were killed.
He is known for his eloquent delivery and strong leadership of his party.[
citation needed] "Prachanda" is a
nom de guerre (war name) along the lines of "
Pancho Villa," "
Hồ Chí Minh," and "
Subcomandante Marcos." "Prachanda" may be literally translated as "the fierce one."
He was elected as Prime Minister of Nepal by the
Constituent Assembly on
15 August 2008.
[2]Contents[
hide]
1 Personal life and early career2 The Maoist insurrection2.1 Relations with Bhattarai2.2 Twelve point agreement2.3 Ceasefires2.4 Interim government3 References4 External links//
[
edit] Personal life and early career
Born to a
Brahmin family in Nepal's Kaski district,
[3] Prachanda spent much of his childhood in the
Chitwan district. He received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSc-Ag) from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) in
Rampur,
Chitwan, and was once employed at a rural development project sponsored by
USAID, the project site being
Jajarkot.
[4]Moved by witnessing severe poverty among Nepalis, he has said, Prachanda was drawn to leftist political parties in his youth. He became general secretary (party leader) of the
Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) in
1989. After a number of permutations, this party became the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). He lived underground even after the restoration of
democracy in
1990. Until then a little-known figure, he controlled the clandestine wing of the party, while the parliamentary representation in the
United People's Front was headed by Dr.
Baburam Bhattarai. Since 1996, Prachanda has become internationally known as the leader of CPN (M), presiding over its military and political wings.
[
edit] The Maoist insurrection
Communism in Nepal
Leaders
[show]Pushpa Lal ShresthaMohan Bikram SinghManmohan AdhikariKeshar Jung RayamajhiChandra Prakash MainaliSahana PradhanMadan Kumar BhandariMadhav Kumar NepalPrachanda
Baburam BhattaraiCurrent groups
[show]CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)CPN (Maoist)CPN (Unity Centre-Masal)CPN (United Marxist)CPN (Marxist-Leninist)CPN (Masal)CPN (United)CPN (Unified)Nepal Workers Peasants PartyDefunct groups
[show]Communist Party of NepalNepal Communist LeagueCPN (Burma)CPN (Pushpa Lal)CPN (4th Convention)CPN (Marxist-Leninist)CPN (Masal)CPN (Mashal)CPN (Manmohan)CPN (Marxist) (1st)CPN (Marxist) (2nd)CPN (Democratic)CPN (Unity Centre)CPN (MLM)CPN (Samyabadi)CPN (MLM Centre)CPN (United)Related articles
[show]CommunismHistory of NepalNepalese Civil WarPolitics of NepalPolitical parties in NepalElections in NepalCommunism PortalPrachanda speaking at a rally in Pokhara.
On
February 4,
1996, Bhattarai gave the government, led by Prime Minister
Sher Bahadur Deuba, a list of 40 demands, threatening civil war if they were not met. The demands related to "nationalism, democracy and livelihood" and included such line items as the "domination of foreign capital in Nepali industries, business and finance should be stopped", and "discriminatory treaties, including the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty, should be abrogated", and "land under the control of the feudal system should be confiscated and distributed to the landless and the homeless."
[5] After that, and until
26 April 2006, Prachanda directed the military efforts of the CPN (M) towards establishing areas of control, particularly in the mountainous regions and western Nepal.
The 40 demands were whittled down to 24 in subsequent political negotiations.
[6][
edit] Relations with Bhattarai
In late 2004 or early 2005, relations between Prachanda and Bhattarai soured.
[7] This was reportedly due to disagreement on power sharing inside the party. Bhattarai was unhappy with the consolidation of power under Prachanda. At one point Prachanda expelled Bhattarai from the party (he was later reinstated). But in reality it was not like that the news which came in public media houses. They reconciled at least some of their differences.
[8] [9][
edit] Twelve point agreement
MaoismBasic concepts
[show]Marxism-LeninismAnti-Revisionism3 Worlds TheorySocial-imperialismMass linePeople's warNew DemocracyProminent Maoists
[show]Mao ZedongPrachanda
Bob AvakianZhang ChunqiaoJosé María SisonAbimael GuzmánCharu MajumdarJiang Qingİbrahim KaypakkayaPierre MuleleInternational tendencies
[show]Conference of M-L Parties and OrganizationsRevolutionary Internationalist MovementParties
[show]Marxist-Leninist Party of GermanyCommunist Party of India (Maoist)Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)Communist Party of PeruCommunist Party of the PhilippinesCommunist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the ProletariatRelated subjects
[show]Communist Party of ChinaCultural RevolutionLittle Red BookNaxalismOn
November 22,
2005 Prachanda and the
Seven Party Alliance released a "twelve-point agreement" that expressed areas of agreement between the CPN(M) and the parties that won a large majority in the last parliamentary election in 1999. Among other points, this document stated that a dictatorial monarchy of King Gyanendra is the chief impediment to progress in Nepal. It claimed further that the Maoists are committed to human rights and press freedoms and a multi-party system of government. It pledged self-criticism and the intention of the Maoists and the Seven Parties to not repeat past mistakes.
[10][
edit] Ceasefires
Several ceasefires have occurred over the course of the Nepalese civil war.
[11] Most recently, on
April 26,
2006, Prachanda announced a ceasefire with a stated duration of 90 days. The move followed weeks of massive protests—the
April 2006 Nepalese general strike— in
Kathmandu and elsewhere that had forced
King Gyanendra to give up the personal dictatorship he had established on the February 1, 2005, and restore the parliament that was dissolved in May 2002.
After that a new government was established by the Seven-Party Alliance. The parliament and the new government supported the ceasefire and started negotiations with the Maoists on the basis of the twelve-point agreement. The two sides agreed that a new constituent assembly will be elected to write a new constitution, and decide on the fate of monarchy. The Maoists want this process to end with Nepal becoming a republic.
[12][
edit] Interim government
Prachanda met for talks with Prime Minister
Girija Prasad Koirala on
June 16,
2006, in what was thought to be his first visit to the capital
Kathmandu in more than a decade.
[13] [14] This meeting resulted in an agreement to dissolve parliament, incorporate the CPN (M) into a new interim government, draft a new constitution, and disband the CPN (M)'s "people's governments" operating in rural Nepal. The two sides also agreed to disarm at a later date, under international supervision.
[15] On
September 18,
2007, the CPN(M) pulled themselves out of the coalition government ahead of the
Constituent Assembly election, demanding the declaration of a republic by parliament and a system of
proportional representation in the election. The CPN(M) rejoined the government on
December 30,
2007 after an agreement to abolish the monarchy following the election and to have a system of partial proportional representation in the election.
[16]On
January 25,
2008, the CPN(M) said that it wanted Prachanda to become President of Nepal when a republic is established.
[17] In the April 2008 Constituent Assembly election, he was elected from Kathmandu constituency-10, winning by a large margin and receiving nearly twice as many votes as his nearest rival, the candidate of the
Nepali Congress.
[18] He also won overwhelmingly in Rolpa constituency-2, receiving 34,230 votes against 6,029 for Shanta Kumar Oli of the
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN (UML)).
[19] With the CPN(M) appearing to have won the election, Prachanda pledged that the party would work together with other parties in crafting the new constitution, and he assured the international community, particularly India and China, that the party wanted good relations and cooperation. He also said that the party had expressed its commitment to multi-party democracy through the election.
[20]Following power-sharing discussions that lasted several months, Prachanda was elected as Prime Minister by the Constituent Assembly on
August 15,
2008. He was backed by the CPN (UML) and the Madeshi People's Rights Forum]], along with a number of smaller parties, but the
Nepali Congress presented another candidate,
Sher Bahadur Deuba. Prachanda received 464 votes, while Deuba received 113 votes.
[2]
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