BP Koirala
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala | |
|---|---|
| विश्वेश्वर प्रसाद कोइराला | |
Koirala in the 1950s | |
| 22nd Prime Minister of Nepal | |
| In office 27 May 1959 – 15 December 1960 | |
| Monarch | King Mahendra |
| Preceded by | Subarna Shamsher Rana |
| Succeeded by | Tulsi Giri |
| 2nd President of the Nepali Congress | |
| In office 26 May 1952 – 24 January 1956 | |
| Preceded by | Matrika Prasad Koirala |
| Succeeded by | Subarna Shamsher Rana |
| In office 23 May 1957 – 21 July 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Subarna Shamsher Rana |
| Succeeded by | Krishna Prasad Bhattarai |
| 1st Minister of Home Affairs Nepal | |
| In office 21 February 1951 – 12 November 1951 | |
| Monarch | King Tribhuvan |
| Prime Minister | Mohan Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Surya Prasad Upadhyaya |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 September 1914 Benares, Benares State, British India |
| Died | 21 July 1982 (aged 67) Kathmandu valley, Nepal |
| Political party | Nepali Congress |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, including Prakash Koirala and Shashanka Koirala |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | See Koirala family |
| Alma mater | Banaras Hindu University University of Calcutta |
| Awards | Nepal Ratna (2018) |
| Signature | |
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (Nepali: विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला; 8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982), better known as B. P. Koirala (Nepali: बीपी कोइराला), was a Nepali revolutionary, political leader, and writer. He was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1959 to 1960. He led the Nepali Congress, a social democratic political party. He was the grandfather of Bollywood actors Manisha Koirala and Siddharth Koirala, the elder brother of former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the younger brother of former prime minister Matrika Prasad Koirala.
Koirala was the first democratically elected and 22nd Prime Minister of Nepal. He held the office for 18 months before being deposed and imprisoned on the instruction of King Mahendra. The rest of his life was spent largely in prison or exile and in steadily deteriorating health.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest political personalities in Nepal, Koirala was a staunch supporter of democracy. He asserted that guarantees of individual liberty and civil and political rights alone were not sufficient in a poor country like Nepal, and that democratic socialism was the solution to Nepal's underdevelopment.