Jhala Nath Khanal

He was previously the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN (UML)) and Leader of the Constituent Assembly Parliamentary Party of the CPN (UML).

Jhala Nath Khanal
झलनाथ खनाल
Khanal in 2011
35th Prime Minister of Nepal
In office 6 February 2011 – 29 August 2011
President	Ram Baran Yadav
Preceded by	Madhav Kumar Nepal
Succeeded by	Baburam Bhattarai
Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
In office 2009–2014
Preceded by	Madhav Kumar Nepal
Succeeded by	Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli
Minister for Information and Communication
In office 1997–1998
Monarch	Birendra of Nepal
Succeeded by	Surya Bahadur Thapa
Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha
In office 4 March 2018 – 18 September 2022
Constituency	Ilam 1
In office May 1991 – May 1999
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	Benup Raj Prasain
Constituency	Ilam 1
Member of Constituent Assembly
In office 28 May 2008 – 14 October 2017
Preceded by	Benup Raj Prasain
Constituency	Ilam 1
Personal details
Born	(1950-05-20) 20 May 1950 (age 73) Sakhejung, Ilam, Nepal
Political party	CPN (Unified Socialist) (2021–present)
Other political affiliations	CPN (UML) (until 2018; 2021) Nepal Communist Party (2018–2021)

Since 18 August 2021, he has been serving as the senior leader of the CPN (Unified Socialist), a new party formed through split in CPN (UML) citing arrogance and monopoly of the party president KP Sharma Oli.

Khanal was born in Sakhejung of Ilam District to a hill Brahmin family of the Khanal clan.

Early political career

Khanal was a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist), and was its General Secretary from 1982 to 1986. Later, he became member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist).

Government posts

Khanal served for a time as Minister of Information and Communication in the 1997 coalition government under Surya Bahadur Thapa.

Khanal won the seat of the Ilam 1 constituency in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election. He led the CPN (UML) as General Secretary from 2008 to February 2009 and was elected as the Chairman of the CPN (UML) on February 16, 2009.

Premiership

 

 

On 3 February 2011, after seven months of political gridlock in which no candidate could muster enough votes to be elected as Prime Minister, Jhala Nath Khanal was elected as Prime Minister by the Constituent Assembly. Khanal received 368 votes in the 601-member parliament, while his nearest rivals, Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress got 122 votes and Bijay Kumar Gachhedar of Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum (Loktantrik) got 67 votes.

Nepal had no proper government since Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned in June 2010. Nepal ran interim government for nearly eight months. Sixteen rounds of voting in parliament since July were unable to produce a new Prime minister as no political party could muster a majority. However, on 3 February 2011 the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) withdrew its candidate, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and backed Khanal. As a result, he became the third Prime Minister of Nepal since it became a federal democratic republic in 2008.

Khanal resigned on 29 August 2011 after nearly six months after the parties failed to agree on the constitution drafting and the peace process amidst a new political crisis. The extended duration of Constituent Assembly were to expire on 31 August 2011.

The Neapli Congress and the Madhesi parties had asked the Prime Minister to resign immediately after being unsuccessful in completing peace process and drafting a new constitution. Even the party leaders increased pressure on Mr. Khanal in order to prevent the party from notoriety.

2017 legislative elections

2013 Constituent Assembly election

2011 Parliamentary Prime Minister election

2008 Constituent Assembly election

1999 legislative elections

1994 legislative elections

1991 legislative elections

• 2021 split in Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)