Pushpa Kamal Dahal was appointed as the Prime Minister (PM) of Nepal for the third time on December 25, 2022. Previously, Dahal held the PM post in 2016-2017 and 2008-2009. Commonly known by his nom de guerre Prachanda, Dahal is the chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre), which is the third largest political party of Nepal. Dahal was leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) during the country's civil war and subsequent peace process and the first Constituent Assembly which later dissolved the monarchy and established Nepal as a republic. In 2017, Prachanda formed an alliance with K P Sharma Oli and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). Together, the two parties swept the 2017 elections. In May 2018 the two parties formally merged into the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), which later split in 2021. Dahal holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. Learn more
