When was Bhimsen Thapa born?

Bhimsen Thapa was born on August 1775 in Gorkha District.

What positions has Bhimsen Thapa held?

Positions held by Bhimsen Thapa include: Prime Minister of Nepal (1806–1837).

Anand Muni Shakya · Public domain

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Bhimsen Thapa

भीमसेन थापा

Mukhtiyar and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837

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Bhimsen Thapa (born August 1775 – 29 July 1839) was a Nepalese statesman who served as the Mukhtiyar (equivalent to prime minister) and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837. He is widely known as the first and the longest-serving prime minister of Nepal. He was inducted into the "National heroes of Nepal" by King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah.

Quick facts

Born: August 1775 wd
Place of birth: Gorkha District wd
Died: 28 July 1839 wd
Place of death: Kathmandu wd
Citizenship: Nepal wd
Occupation: politician wd

Public office

Prime Minister (1 January 1806 – 1 July 1837)

Officeholder record, tenure and sources →

Positions held wd

Prime Minister of Nepal (1 January 1806 – 1 July 1837)

About

Born into an ordinary military family in the Gorkha Kingdom, Bhimsen first came close to the Crown Prince Rana Bahadur Shah at an early age in 1785. In 1798, he was recruited as a bodyguard for the King by his father. Thereafter, he rose to influence after helping the exiled ex-King Rana Bahadur Shah engineer his return to power in 1804. In gratitude, Rana Bahadur made Bhimsen a Kaji (equivalent to a minister) of the newly formed government. Rana Bahadur's assassination by his stepbrother Sher Bahadur Shah in 1806 led Bhimsen to initiate investigations into the context in which he ordered the death penalty for ninety-three people popularly known as the 1806 Bhandarkhal massacre, after which he claimed the title of Mukhtiyar (equivalent to prime minister) himself. The death of King Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah in 1816 at the immature age of 17, with his heir, King Rajendra Bikram Shah being only 3 years old, along with the support from Queen Tripurasundari (the junior queen of Rana Bahadur Shah) allowed him to remain in power even after Nepal's defeat in the Anglo-Nepalese War. After the death of Queen Tripurasundari in 1832, the intrigues of the newly adult King Rajendra, the conspiracies and infightings with the British envoy Brian Houghton Hodgson, Senior Queen Samrajya Laxmi Devi and the rival courtiers (especially the Kala Pandes, who held Bhimsen Thapa responsible for the death of Damodar Pande in 1804) finally led to his imprisonment on false charges of the murder of an infant prince and ultimately his death by suicide in…

Key decisions and achievements

Quoted from Wikipedia: Bhimsen Thapa (CC BY-SA 4.0); each sentence links the source Wikipedia cites for it. Checked 7 November 2026.

Sansar Chand took refuge among the Sikhs of Punjab and by August 1809, the Nepalese army was forced to retreat back by the combined army of Sansar Chand and Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab. Nepali Times
Furthermore, according to the treaty, Nepal had to agree that accredited Ministers from each shall reside at the Court of the other to secure and improve the relations of amity and peace between the two States. nepaldevelopment.pbworks.com
The smaller Dharahara had 11 storeys before 1934 Nepal earthquake reduced it to two storeys. thehimalayantimes.com The Kathmandu Post www.lonelyplanet.com
The original Dharahara Tower built by Bhimsen was 225 feet tall and was completely destroyed in the 2015 Nepal earthquake. thehimalayantimes.com thehimalayantimes.com
It was recognized by UNESCO. dnaindia.com
Dharahara is considered as majestic and nationalistic legacy of Bhimsen. thehimalayantimes.com

Questions

When was Bhimsen Thapa born?: Bhimsen Thapa was born on August 1775 in Gorkha District.
What positions has Bhimsen Thapa held?: Positions held by Bhimsen Thapa include: Prime Minister of Nepal (1806–1837).

Sources

Last updated 1 November 2026 · facts checked 7 November 2026

Cite this page

"Bhimsen Thapa". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/bhimsen-thapa. Retrieved 7 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Bhimsen Thapa, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Bhimsen Thapa sitting.jpg — Anand Muni Shakya, Public domain.

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