K. P. Sharma Oli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| के.पी. शर्मा ओली | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) Oli in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 38thPrime Minister of Nepal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 15 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Ram Chandra Poudel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Bishnu Prasad Paudel Prakash Man Singh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Pushpa Kamal Dahal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 15 February 2018 – 13 July 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Bidya Devi Bhandari | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 October 2015 – 24 August 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Ram Baran Yadav Bidya Devi Bhandari | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sushil Koirala | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Pushpa Kamal Dahal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 27 February 2023 – 4 March 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Pushpa Kamal Dahal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 13 July 2021 – 26 December 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 August 2016 – 15 February 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Pushpa Kamal Dahal Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sushil Koirala | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Sher Bahadur Deuba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (1952-02-22)22 February 1952 (age 73) Iwa,Kingdom of Nepal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | CPN (UML) (1991–2018; 2021–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | kpsharmaoli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (Nepali:खड्ग प्रसाद शर्मा ओली; born 22 February 1952), commonly known asK. P. Sharma Oli or simplyK. P. Oli (English pronunciation:/ˈkeɪˈpiʃɑːrməoʊliː/ⓘ,pronounced[ˈkʰʌɽɡʌprʌsad̪ˈoli]), is a Nepalese politician who is serving as theprime minister of Nepal since 15 July 2024.
Chairman of theCommunist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) since 2014,[3][4] he previously served as prime minister on two consecutive occasions, from October 2015 to August 2016[5][6][7] and from February 2018 to July 2021.[8] He has been theMember of Parliament forJhapa 5 since 2017. He previously served as an MP for Jhapa 6,Jhapa 2, and Jhapa 7.
Oli opposedIndia's 2015 blockade of Nepal.[9] He strengthened relations withChina as an alternative to Nepal's traditionally close trade ties withIndia and updated the map of Nepal by constitutional amendment to includeterritories disputed with India, for which he has received some domestic praise and a reputation as anationalist.[10][11] Oli's tenure in office has been controversial for frequent use of tongue-in-cheek remarks, hostility towards critics and the media,[12][13] and accusations of fosteringcronyism and corruption.[14]
K.P. Sharma Oli was born on 22 February 1952 inIwa inTehrathum.[15] His father, Mohan Prasad Oli, was a farmer with limited education. His mother, Madhumaya Oli, died from smallpox when he was four. He had a younger brother and three younger sisters from his father's second marriage. Oli completed his primary education at the nearby Pranami Middle School. His family moved toSurungwa, Jhapa in 1958 but following floods in theKankai river, they were left landless and Oli moved in with his grandparents. His family then migrated toGaramani,Jhapa in 1962. He completed hisSLC exam from Adarsha Secondary School in 1970. While in Jhapa, Oli was influenced by the anti-Panchayat andNaxalbari movements. He credits his distant uncle Ramnath Dahal for his communist inclination.[16][17][18]
After he turned eighteen in 1970, Oli became a member of his local chapter of a splinter group of theCommunist Party of Nepal. He was arrested in the same year for his involvement in subversive politics. His group later joined the district committee ofCPN (Manmohan). After the party split in 1972, he became the organizing secretary of a Coordination Committee for theJhapa rebellion after former secretaryRadha Krishna Mainali contractedtuberculosis. Oli,Mohan Chandra Adhikari and Ram Nath Dahal advocated for organizational expansion and public mobilization arguing that authorities would crack down on them for any violent activities.[16][17][19] A majority of the committee favored an armed struggle however and in February 1973 he was removed as secretary and had his membership stripped off by hardliners within the committee led byChandra Prakash Mainali. The next month, Ramnath Dahal was killed by the Panchayat administration.
Following his removal as secretary, Oli went into hiding inBiratnagar. He then got into contact with Mohan Chandra who was inKanpur, India at the time. In October 1973 upon his return to Nepal, he was arrested in Rautahat and was imprisoned until 1987.[20] He was first kept in Gaur prison but was moved around before being sent to the Central Jail in Golghar. There he was kept in solitary confinement for four years.[16] Oli was made a central committee member of theMadan Bhandari-ledCPN (Marxist–Leninist) while in jail and after his release in 1987 became involved in party activities. He was appointed the Lumbini Zonal chief for theUnited Left Front in 1989.[17][19][18]
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After CPN (Marxist–Leninist) merged withCPN (Marxist) to form theCPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) in 1991, Oli became a founding central committee member of the new party. Later that year he became the founding chairman of the Democratic National Youth Federation. In 1992, he was elected as a standing committee member of the party and was appointed as the chief of the party's publicity department.[17][18] In the1991 election, Oli was elected from Jhapa 6. Oli supported party general secretaryMadan Bhandari's proposal ofPeople's Multiparty Democracy as the party line in the fifth party congress in 1993. After Bhandari's death on 16 May 1993, a commission to conduct an investigation was made by prime ministerGirija Prasad Koirala under the leadership of former supreme court justice Prachanda Raj Anil. The UML labeled the party as pro-Congress and formed their own commission headed by Oli. The report by Oli claimed that the crash was an assassination, while the government commission claimed that the incident was an accident.[21][22]
He was reelected in the1994 election from Jhapa 6 and becameHome Minister in the minority government ofMan Mohan Adhikari.[19] Oli was a coordinator of the party'sMahakali treaty study team and played a key role in the treaty's endorsement in the parliament. He supported general secretaryMadhav Kumar Nepal at the party's sixth national congress which was boycotted by members led by deputy general secretaryBam Dev Gautam. The boycotting members were suspended by the party and they broke off and reconstituted theCPN (Marxist–Leninist) citing their opposition to the treaty and their unfair treatment within the party.[19][18] He was reelected again in the1999 election fromJhapa 2 and Jhapa 6, the latter of which he vacated. In the party's seventh congress in February 2003, Oli put forth a proposal to democratize the party structure and proposed a structure with a chairman and a general secretary. After he was outnumbered in the congress, he withdrew his proposal.[18][23]
Following the royal coup byKing Gyanendra in 2005, he was put under house arrest.[24] Following the2006 revolution, Oli was appointed as deputy prime minister andforeign minister in Girija Prasad Koirala's interim cabinet.[25] He was also made chair of a cabinet committee to implement the High Level Probe Commission report which investigated abuses of state power and funds since the royal coup.[26] Oli lost in the2008 Constituent Assembly election in Jhapa 7. At the party's eight general convention in 2009, his previous proposal for organizational changes was accepted. He was also reelected to the central committee by the congress but lost his bid for party chair toJhala Nath Khanal.[18][27]
In the2013 Constituent Assembly election, Oli was elected from Jhapa 7. He also became the parliamentary party leader, defeating Khanal in the contest.[28] Oli again challenged for the party leadership at the ninth general convention in July 2015. He defeated former general secretaryMadhav Kumar Nepal and was elected as party chair.[29][18][30]
Following the promulgation of the new constitution, Oli was elected as Prime Minister in a parliamentary vote on 11 October 2015,[31] receiving 338 votes out of 597 members in theLegislature Parliament. His candidacy was supported by theUCPN (Maoist),Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal,Madheshi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal (Loktantrik) and 13 other small parties. He was sworn in on 12 October.[32]
His appointment came at the time ofprotests in the southern plains demanding revisions to the constitution and ablockade imposed by India. Amid deteriorating relations with India, his cabinet recalled Nepal's ambassador to India,Dip Kumar Upadhaya following differences with the cabinet.[33] On March 20, he went on a state visit toChina where the two countries signed trade and transit treaties.[34][35]
He resigned on 24 July 2016, after losing the support of his coalition partners. The main coalition partnerCPN (Maoist Centre) and the oppositionNepali Congress had registered a no-confidence motion against his government on 14 July 2016.[36][37]
In the2017 election, the alliance between theCPN (UML) andCPN (Maoist Centre) gained a majority in theHouse of Representatives.[38][39] Oli was elected fromJhapa 5 with a majority of over 28,000 votes.[40] He was unanimously elected as the leader of the parliamentary party on 15 February 2018.[41]
He was appointed prime minister for a second time on 15 February 2018 with the support ofCPN (Maoist Centre). He passed the floor test on 11 March with 208 of 268 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives.[42][43] Following the merger of the two coalition partners to form theNepal Communist Party, he became co-chair of the new party along withPushpa Kamal Dahal.[44][45]
After pressure within the party fromMadhav Kumar Nepal and other leaders to either give up the party leadership or the premiership, Dahal was made the executive head of the party.[46][47] He reshuffled his cabinet on 22 November to manage factions within the party.[48][49] His government also received criticism from leader within the party includingBhim Rawal for their agreement with the United States government for grants under theMillennium Challenge Corporation.[50]
In February 2019, Oli claimed that the world is amazed by thesupercomputer being built by Nepal. He was referring to a computer that was being built in theBanepa IT Park, which the makers had claimed to be a supercomputer in spite of its lacking computing power.[51]
In August 2019, Oli claimed the English wordrhinoceros should be replaced by the Nepali word for the animal,Gainda (Nepali:गैँडा,romanized: Gaim̐ḍā), andMount Everest should be known asSagarmatha (Nepali:सगरमाथा,romanized: Sagarmāthā) by everyone.[52] He said, "...Do you know what [a]gaida [is]? You people know [a]gaida as [a] rhino. But rhinos are not rhinos, they aregaida. I request you to remember this word—gaida...".[53]
His handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic was criticized within the party. Party members were critical of an agreement with a private company in China to purchase medical equipment, and unbeknownst to cabinet members assigning the responsibility to purchase medical equipment to theNepali Army. The government's late response in evacuating Nepalese citizens was also criticized.[54][55] He also received criticism for suggesting that the rising number of coronavirus cases were from individuals breaking the lockdown, especially those sneaking into Nepal from India. He also claimed that the corona is similar to the flu and that one should sneeze and drink hot water to drive the virus away.[56][57]
In May 2020, the Oli government unveiled new maps of the country including the disputed territories ofKalapani,Lipulekh andLimpiyadhura in response to the inauguration of a road across theLipulekh pass by India,[58] which led to a "cartographic war" between the two countries.[59]A constitutional amendment bill to amend the official map andemblem of the country passed unanimously.[60][61][62][63]
Following calls within the party to resign, Oli reshuffled his cabinet again in October 2020 but was admonished for not consulting the party.[64][65] Dahal presented a political document at a party secretariat meeting that accused K.P. Sharma Oli of not following the party's directions, unilaterally leading the government and turning a blind eye towards corruption.[66] In response, Oli attacked Dahal for not letting him run the government, promoting factionalism and nepotism as well as not letting victims of theNepalese Civil War get justice.[67]
On 20 December 2020, K.P. Sharma Oli called on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to dissolve theHouse of Representatives and call for fresh elections.[68] In an address to the nation, Oli said he dissolved the house after the party had not let him work as prime minister and that a no-confidence motion was being prepared against him from within the party.[69] The decision was met with criticism from within the party and seven ministers close to the Dahal–Nepal faction in his cabinet resigned in protest.[70] On 23 February 2021, a constitutional bench led byChief JusticeCholendra Shumsher Rana declared the dissolution unconstitutional, and reinstated the House to meet within 13 days.[71][72] Oli respected the verdict and convened parliament on 7 March.[73][74]
On 7 March 2021, the Supreme Court ruled to award the Nepal Communist Party toRishiram Kattel after he challenged theElection Commission's ruling of providing the name of his party to the NCP formed after the 2018 merger.[75] The verdict dissolved the ruling party jointly led by Oli and Dahal, reviving the former CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) parties.[76] This reduced Oli's government back to a coalition, exacerbating political tensions. The CPN (Maoist Centre) recalled its ministers on 13 March 2021 and withdrew its support from the Oli government on 5 May 2021, turning it into a minority government.[77][78]
On 10 May 2021, Oli failed a vote of confidence with 93 of 232 in the House of Representatives, 43 below the 136 majority.[79][80] He then became a minority Prime Minister on 13 May 2021, when no opposition party formed a majority or claimed it in time.[81][82] Acabinet meeting chaired byprime minister and party chairmanKP Sharma Oli recommended the president to dissolve the House of Representatives on 22 May 2021 after members of his party led by former prime ministersMadhav Kumar Nepal andJhala Nath Khanal supportedNepali Congress leaderSher Bahadur Deuba as the next prime minister.[83][84] On 12 July 2021, the constitutional bench of theSupreme Court formed to hear the opposition's writs against the dissolution. It declared the dissolution unconstitutional and ordered the appointment of Deuba as prime minister within 28 hours.[85][86][87][88] After Nepal and Khanal were suspended by the party for disobeying party orders the party split in August the former party leaders forming theCPN (Unified Socialist).[89][90][91] Oli was re-elected party chair in the10th general convention of the CPN (UML) in November 2021 defeatingBhim Rawal in the leadership election.[92][93]
In the2022 general election, his party became the second-largest party in the House of Representatives.[94] Oli was reelected fromJhapa 5 with a majority of over 29,000 votes.[95] After power-sharing talks broke down inside the ruling alliance, Oli and Dahal brokered a deal, backing Dahal's bid as prime minister.[96] The UML withdrew from the coalition government ahead of the presidential election in March 2023, but joined hands with Dahal again in March 2024.[97][98]
Following disagreements with the prime minister and other coalition partners about the annual budget and citing the need for a stable government of national consensus, Oli and Nepali Congress' Deuba agreed on 1 July 2024 to form a rotational government with the two party chairs serving equal time as prime minister.[99][100] CPN (UML) withdrew its support from theDahal government, and following a failed a motion of confidence for Dahal in the House on 12 July, Oli was appointed prime minister for a fourth stint on 14 July as part of a coalition with the Nepali Congress, and sworn in the following day.[101][102][103]
Oli credits his distant uncle Ramnath Dahal for his communist beliefs. As a student in Jhapa at the time, he was influenced by theNaxalite insurgency inWest Bengal, India. He had not studiedMarxism but had followed the line ofCultural Revolution in his earlier days. He later claimed that it was a "mistaken path".[16]
Oli was regularly in conflict with "hardliners" that advocated for armed struggle against thePanchayat administration.[16][20] He has been critical of theMaoists for the loss of life during theCivil War.[67]
While organizing theJhapa rebellion, organizers hired twoNaxalite guerrillas to train their members. Oli supportedMohan Chandra Adhikari's opinion that their presence was part of India's imperialist ambitions in the region.
Oli played an important role in getting parliamentary support for theMahakali treaty that was to be signed with India. The treaty was a reason cited for causing a split in the party and it led to Oli being seen as a pro-India leader.[20]
During his first tenure in 2015, he pushed for closerties with China following theblockade by India.[34] In his second tenure his government brought in amendments to the constitution which added the disputed territories ofKalapani,Lipulekh andLimpiyadhura to the official map of the country in response to the inauguration of a road across Lipulekh by India.[60]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, Oli had lashed out at India, saying that the "Indian virus" was more dangerous than the "Chinese or Italian virus" and even made light of theIndian national emblem.[104] He said this during an address to the parliament where he blamed the rising number of coronavirus cases on individuals violating the nationwide lockdown, especially those sneaking into Nepal from India, claiming that "people coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country.", which sparked a round of media attention in India.[105][106][107]
While addressing a function celebrating the 207th birth anniversary of poetBhanubhakta Acharya on July 2020, Oli saidLord Rama was born in Nepal and India had created a fakeAyodhya.[108][109][110] He claimed Thori, a place nearBirgunj in southern Nepal, to be the birthplace of Rama and it was impossible for Rama to reachJanakpur in eastern Nepal to marrySita fromAyodhya in India. He later launched an investigation into this matter, asking officials in the region to research the whereabouts ofAyodhyapuri.[17] He also claimed to have found strong evidences of the real Ayodhya, supposedly including the ruins of Someshwar Gadhi andValmiki Ashram, both of whom are associated with Lord Rama.[17]
On the occasion ofInternational Day of Yoga on 21 June 2021, Oli claimed that yoga originated inUttarakhand and Nepal in particular.[111] According to him, India as a country did not exist at the time when yogic science was founded.[112][113][114] This caused backlash from Nepali and Indian social media.[115]
After the dissolution of the parliament in 2003, there were claims from some that Oli had dealings with the palace .[116] He had commented that turning Nepal into a republic would be like "making for America in a bullock cart".[117] Oli also defied party whip and was not present when theinterim legislature declared Nepal as a republic.[118]
Oli has also been seen as favoring centralization. During his second term as prime minister he centralized more executive power into his post.[119] He has also been seen as unwilling to letprovincial andlocal governments function autonomously.[120][121]
| Election | House | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | House of Representatives | Jhapa 6 | CPN (UML) | 21,049 |  Y Elected | |
| 1994 | House of Representatives | Jhapa 6 | CPN (UML) | 18,861 | Y Elected | |
| 1999 | House of Representatives | Jhapa 2 | CPN (UML) | 18,909 | Y Elected | |
| Jhapa 6 | 23,749 | Y Vacated | ||||
| 2008 | Constituent Assembly | Jhapa 7 | CPN (UML) | 14,959 |  N Lost | |
| 2013 | Constituent Assembly | Jhapa 7 | CPN (UML) | 19,287 | Y Elected | |
| 2017 | House of Representatives | Jhapa 5 | CPN (UML) | 57,139 | Y Elected | |
| 2022 | House of Representatives | Jhapa 5 | CPN (UML) | 52,319 | Y Elected | |
Oli is married to Radhika Shakya. He met Shakya in 1987 at an event organized byCPN (Marxist–Leninist) for recently released political prisoners inPulchowk Campus. She was working as a temporary worker forNepal Rastra Bank at the time, while studying atPatan Campus. Later that year, the two married in a ceremony attended by 20 people.[122][123]
He currently resides inBalkot, Bhaktapur but also has a residence inDamak,Jhapa.[18]
During his imprisonment, Oli contractedtuberculosis and he was also suffering fromgastric ulcer. At the time of release, he was described to be extremely scrawny. After the1990 revolution he developed problems in his kidneys.[18] He underwent a kidney transplant inApollo Hospital,New Delhi in 2007 and had a second transplant inTribhuvan University Teaching Hospital,Kathmandu in 2020.[124][125] He was admitted to intensive care where he under dialysis for renal disease in November 2019.[126][127]
{{cite report}}:|last= has generic name (help)| House of Representatives of Nepal | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Jhapa 6 1991–1999 | Succeeded by Gopal Prasad Koirala |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forJhapa 2 1999–2008 | Succeeded byas Member of theConstituent Assembly |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forJhapa 5 2018–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Home Affairs 1994–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Ramesh Nath Pandey | Minister of Foreign Affairs 2006–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Nepal 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Nepal 2018–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Nepal 2024–present | Incumbent |
| 2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the Constituent Assembly for Jhapa 7 2014–2017 | Constituency abolished |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theCommunist Party of Nepal (UML) 2014–2018 | Party dissolved |
| New political party | Leader of theNepal Communist Party (NCP) 2018–2021 | |
| Party re-established | Leader of theCommunist Party of Nepal (UML) 2021–present | Incumbent |
SAARC leaders | |
|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
