{"id":"birendra-of-nepal","type":"person","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/birendra-of-nepal","language":"en","name":"Birendra of Nepal","name_en":"Birendra of Nepal","name_ne":"वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह","description":"King of Nepal (1945–2001)","headline":"King of Nepal (1945–2001)","also_known_as":[],"summary":"Shree Panch Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was King of Nepal from 1972 until his assassination in the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre.","summary_more":[],"facts":[{"key":"born","label":"Born","values":[{"text":"28 December 1945","date":"1945-12-28"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q162306#P569"}},{"key":"birthplace","label":"Place of birth","values":[{"text":"Kathmandu","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3037","page":"https://diginpl.com/places/kathmandu"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q162306#P19"}},{"key":"died","label":"Died","values":[{"text":"1 June 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Tokyo","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7842"},{"text":"Loreto Convent","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6680915"},{"text":"St. Joseph's School, Darjeeling","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7589223"},{"text":"St Joseph's College, Darjeeling","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7593828"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q162306#P69"}},{"key":"spouse","label":"Spouse","values":[{"text":"Aishwarya of Nepal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1134162","page":"https://diginpl.com/people/queen-aishwarya-of-nepal","start":"1970-02-01"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q162306#P26"}},{"key":"positions","label":"Positions held","values":[{"text":"King of Nepal (31 January 1972 – 1 June 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supporter of Nepalese craftspeople and artists, and learned to fly helicopters.","sources":[{"url":"https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEEDD143FF930A35755C0A9679C8B63","title":"Birendra, 55, Ruler of Nepal's the Hindu Kingdom","publisher":"The New York Times","date":"3 June 2001"}]},{"text":"The wedding, which was billed as one of the most lavish Hindu nuptial ceremonies in history, cost $9.5 million to stage.","sources":[{"url":"http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878784-1,00.html","title":"Marriage of Convenience","publisher":"Time","date":"9 March 1970"}]}]},{"id":"decisions","title":"Key decisions and achievements","items":[{"text":"Birendra is initially credited for devising the plan of Melamchi water project to Kathmandu.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.spotlightnepal.com/2021/04/04/melamchi-project-water-tap/","title":"MELAMCHI PROJECT Water At The Tap","publisher":"SpotlightNepal","date":null}]},{"text":"King Birendra, was the patron of Pashupati Area Development Trust.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.raonline.ch/pages/story/np/npstory22c.html","title":"RAOnline Reports on Nepal – The Royal Tragedy","publisher":"www.raonline.ch","date":null}]},{"text":"In April 1979, Nepal Oriental Magnesite factory was established with a joint investment of Nepal government and Orissa Industries, India at Lakuri Danda in Dolakha District with the objective of producing dead burnt magnesite and talc powder.","sources":[{"url":"https://kathmandupost.com/money/2014/04/01/govt-making-efforts-to-revive-nepal-orind-magnesite","title":"Govt making efforts to revive Nepal Orind Magnesite","publisher":"kathmandupost.com","date":null}]},{"text":"A 60 megawatt hydropower project at Kulekhani began operation in 1982 with economic aid from the World Bank, Kuwait, and Japan.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.britannica.com/place/Nepal","title":"Nepal {{!}} History, Population, Flag, Language, Map, & Facts","publisher":"www.britannica.com","date":null}]},{"text":"TU Teaching Hospital was established in 1982 with the economic support from Japan International Cooperation Agency.","sources":[{"url":"http://iom.edu.np/about/","title":"About – Institute of Medicine","publisher":null,"date":null}]},{"text":"This center was later developed to what we know today as Nepal Stock Exchange.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.nepalstock.com.np/about-us/introduction","title":"Nepal Stock Exchange","publisher":"www.nepalstock.com.np","date":null}]}]},{"id":"controversies","title":"Controversies and criticism","items":[{"text":"The Panchayat regime created a stagnant economy during his reign as an autocratic ruler.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645224","title":"Nepal's Stagnant Economy: The Panchayat Legacy","publisher":"Asian Survey","date":"1991"}]},{"text":"He restructured various organization previously established by his father, and implemented various development plan envisioned by his father.","sources":[{"url":"https://theannapurnaexpress.com/news/six-decades-of-american-aid-1746","title":"Six decades of American aid","publisher":"The Annapurna Express","date":null},{"url":"https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/cannabis-high-time-to-lift-ban,2548","title":"High time to lift ban","publisher":"nepalitimes","date":"3 September 2015"}]},{"text":"Moreover, the reason the newly built roads were rarely used was due to very low vehicle ownership or access to vehicles; so rarely contributing to economic development.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.zum.de/whkmla/sp/0708/eunmo/eunmo1.html#ed","title":"Modernization of Nepal under the Shah Dynasty, 1951–1991","publisher":"www.zum.de","date":"2007"}]},{"text":"During the 1980s, the restraints that he had eased against political organizations provided a breeding ground for political parties which had previously been powerless and virtually non-existent until then.","sources":[{"url":"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1365485.stm","title":"Birendra: Nepal's monarch of change","publisher":"BBC","date":"2 June 2001"}]}]}],"cited_from":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Birendra_of_Nepal&oldid=1379187267","videos":[],"last_reviewed":null,"organizations":[],"same_as":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birendra_of_Nepal","https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE_%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B9","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q162306"],"faq":[{"q":"When was Birendra of Nepal born?","a":"Birendra of Nepal was born on 28 December 1945 in Kathmandu."},{"q":"What positions has Birendra of Nepal held?","a":"Positions held by Birendra of Nepal include: King of Nepal (1972–2001)."},{"q":"Where did Birendra of Nepal study?","a":"Birendra of Nepal was educated at Harvard University, Eton College, 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This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Birendra Bir Bikram Shah c. 1967 (restoration).jpg — CAPTAIN MEDUSA, CC BY-SA 4.0.","cite":"\"Birendra of Nepal\". DigiNepal. Last updated 9 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/birendra-of-nepal. Retrieved 21 October 2026.","date_modified":"2026-10-09T02:50:02Z","facts_checked":"2026-10-21","alternates":{"html":"https://diginpl.com/people/birendra-of-nepal","en":"https://diginpl.com/people/birendra-of-nepal","ne":"https://diginpl.com/people/birendra-of-nepal?lang=ne"}}