The following is a list of the heads of state of Nepal, from the unification of the country and the founding of the Kingdom of Nepal in 1768, to the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in 2008.
The King of Nepal was the country's head of state from the unification and the establishment of the kingdom in 1768 to 2008. Since 2008, the head of state has been the President of Nepal after the abolition of monarchy and the establishment of a republic.
See main article: King of Nepal. Nepal was ruled by monarchs of the Shah dynasty from 1768 till the abolition of monarchy in 2008. However, from 1846 until the 1951 revolution, the country was de facto ruled by the hereditary prime ministers of the Rana dynasty, reducing the role of the Shah monarch to that of a figurehead.[1] The monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the 1st Constituent Assembly.[2] [3]
| Portrait | King | Reign | House | Claim | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reign start | Reign end | Duration | ||||||
| 1 | Prithvi Narayan Shah Nepali: पृथ्वी नारायण शाह | 25 September 1768 | 11 January 1775 | Shah | King of the Gorkha Kingdom since 1743 | |||
| 2 | Pratap Singh Shah Nepali: प्रताप सिंह शाह | 11 January 1775 | 17 November 1777 | Shah | Son of Prithvi Narayan Shah | |||
| 3 | Rana Bahadur Shah Nepali: रण बहादुर शाह | 17 November 1777 | 8 March 1799 | Shah | Son of Pratap Singh Shah | |||
| 4 | Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah Nepali: गीर्वाणयुद्ध विक्रम शाह | 8 March 1799 | 20 November 1816 | Shah | Son of Rana Bahadur Shah | |||
| 5 | Rajendra Bikram Shah Nepali: राजेन्द्र विक्रम शाह | 20 November 1816 | 12 May 1847 | Shah | Son of Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah | |||
| 6 | Surendra Bikram Shah Nepali: सुरेन्द्र विक्रम शाह | 12 May 1847 | 17 May 1881 | Shah | Son of Rajendra Bikram Shah | |||
| 7 | Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah Nepali: पृथ्वी वीर विक्रम शाह | 17 May 1881 | 11 December 1911 | Shah | Grandson of Surendra Bikram Shah | |||
| 8 | Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Nepali: त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह | 11 December 1911 | 7 November 1950 | Shah | Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah | |||
| 9 | Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Nepali: ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह | 7 November 1950 | 7 January 1951 | Shah | Grandson of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah | |||
| Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Nepali: त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह | 7 January 1951 | 13 March 1955 | Shah | Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah | ||||
| 10 | Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Nepali: महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह | 14 March 1955 | 31 January 1972 | Shah | Son of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah | |||
| 11 | Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Nepali: वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह | 31 January 1972 | 1 June 2001 | Shah | Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah | |||
| 12 | Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Nepali: दीपेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह | 1 June 2001 | 4 June 2001 | Shah | Son of Birendra Bir Bikram Shah | |||
| Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Nepali: ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह | 4 June 2001 | 28 May 2008 | Shah | Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah | ||||
Under the interim constitution adopted in January 2007, all powers of governance were removed from the king, and the Constituent Assembly elected in 2008 was to decide in its first meeting whether to continue the monarchy or to declare a republic. During the suspension of the monarchy, Girija Prasad Koirala, then Prime Minister of Nepal, acted as the Head of State. On 28 May 2008, the Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy. Ram Baran Yadav was elected by the Constituent Assembly, and was sworn in as the nation's first president on 23 July 2008.
Status:
See main article: President of Nepal.