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Sher Bahadur Deuba
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Sher Bahadur Deuba

शेरबहादुर देउवा

Prime Minister of Nepal

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Sher Bahadur Deuba (born 13 June 1946) is a Nepalese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Nepal for five terms between 1995 and 2022. He was the president of the Nepali Congress since 2016 until 2026 and was the Member of Parliament for the parliamentary constituency of Dadeldhura 1 before the parliament was dissolved on 12 September 2025. During the Gen Z protests, he and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, were physically assaulted by protesters at their residence. His tenure in office has been controversial for nepotism, corruption and disillusionment with citizens.

Quick facts

Born
wd
Place of birth
Ashigram wd
Citizenship
Nepal wd
Occupation
politician wd
Political party
Nepali Congress wd
Education
London School of Economics and Political Science wd

Public office

Officeholder record, tenure and sources →

Positions held wd

About

Born and raised in Ashigram, a remote village in Ganyapdhura Rural Municipality of Dadeldhura, Deuba completed his primary education there and his secondary education in Doti. He completed his higher education at Tri-Chandra College In 1991, he was elected to the House of Representatives and served as the Minister of Home Affairs in the cabinet led by Girija Prasad Koirala. Deuba became prime minister after Man Mohan Adhikari tried to dissolve the parliament for the second time in two years in 1995. He oversaw the signature of the Mahakali treaty with India during his first term. His second premiership started in July 2001 amidst the rise of the Maoists and he later declared a state of emergency and listed the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as a "terrorist organization". He was dismissed by King Gyanendra in October 2002, but after a public backlash, he was reappointed prime minister in June 2004. He was arrested after the 2005 coup d'état by King Gyanendra, and released in February 2006 after the Supreme Court declared his arrest unlawful.

Deuba was sworn in as prime minister for a fourth stint in June 2017, as per an agreement to form a rotational government by Congress and the CPN (Maoist Centre). His government successfully conducted the elections of all three levels of government in…

Early life and education

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

  • Deuba was born on 13 June 1946 in Ashigram, Kingdom of Nepal. Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
  • He moved to Kathmandu for his higher education and in 1963 enrolled in Tri-Chandra College. Online Khabar
  • In 1988, Deuba, with the help of acting Nepali Congress president Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, got a scholarship through Socialist International and was sent to London to attend the London School of Economics where he was a research student studying political science. London School of Economics
  • In London he worked as a part-time translator for the BBC World Service. Nepali Times
  • They have a son, Jaybir Singh Deuba. Setopati CNN
  • In November 2016, Deuba was conferred an honorary doctorate degree by Jawaharlal Nehru University in India. The Kathmandu Post

Career

  • The next year, he became the president of the union, a position that he held for eight years. BBC News नेपाली Online Khabar
  • Deuba was arrested in connection with the Jaisidewal bomb plot. Onlinekhabar
  • He served nine years in jail during the 1970s and 80s for his participation in pro-democracy activities. CNN
  • He became Home Minister in Girija Prasad Koirala's cabinet. BBC News नेपाली Online Khabar
  • Following the party losing their majority in the election, outgoing Prime Minister Koirala did not stand for re-election as parliamentary party leader and Deuba was elected unopposed after rivals Ram Chandra Paudel and Shailaja Acharya withdrew their candidacy. Online Khabar ekagaj
  • His administration also introduced pensions, allowances and other privileges for legislators. Asian Survey Asian Survey

Controversies and criticism

  • During his first term as Prime Minister, Deuba drew widespread criticism for assembling a cabinet of 52 ministers over an eighteen-month tenure — a move condemned as an exercise in patronage politics and criticised openly by Nepali Congress party president Girija Prasad Koirala. Nepali Times
  • Koirala declared the convention illegal, and in September 2002, the Election Commission ruled that Koirala's group was the official Nepali Congress, after which Deuba formally established the Nepali Congress (Democratic). BBC News
  • After peace negotiations collapsed, his government declared a six-month state of emergency in February 2002 and designated the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) a terrorist organisation. BBC News
  • Critics and political scholars have argued that Deuba bore significant responsibility for the failure of early-stage peace talks, having disregarded a list of Maoist demands presented to the government in January 1996. Nepal Research
  • His government also dissolved elected local bodies and replaced them with appointed government officials in July 2002, a measure condemned as democratic backsliding. Nepal Research
  • Deuba further introduced the Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Control and Punishment) Act (TADA), which human rights organisations criticised for its overly broad scope and potential for misuse. Nepal Research

In the news All news →

Questions

When was Sher Bahadur Deuba born?
Sher Bahadur Deuba was born on 13 June 1946 in Ashigram.
What positions has Sher Bahadur Deuba held?
Positions held by Sher Bahadur Deuba include: Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (2022–2022); Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development (2022–2022); Minister of Forests and Environment (2022–2022); Minister of Federal Affairs and General Administration (2022–2022); Minister of Finance (2022–2022).
Where did Sher Bahadur Deuba study?
Sher Bahadur Deuba was educated at London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (English): Sher Bahadur Deuba · CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Wikipedia (Nepali): शेरबहादुर देउवा · CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. Wikidata item Q470903 · CC0 1.0
  4. Image: Sher Bahadur Deuba November 2021 crop.jpg by Prime Minister's Office (GODL-India)
  5. Wikipedia (English), revision used for cited facts: Sher Bahadur Deuba · CC BY-SA 4.0
  6. Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers: Personal information of Sher Bahadur Deuba published in
  7. Online Khabar: शेरबहादुरका साथीः पाइन्ट किन्नेदेखि रक्सी पिउनेसम्म !
  8. London School of Economics: LSE people
  9. Nepali Times: Deuba at lse (2002-07-12)
  10. Setopati: Deuba active again after returning from Singapore, starts meeting leaders
  11. CNN: Former Nepali PM Deuba convicted (2005-07-26)
  12. The Kathmandu Post: Deuba conferred JNU's honorary doctorate degree (7 November 2016)
  13. BBC News नेपाली: पाँचौँ पटक प्रधानमन्त्री बनेका शेरबहादुर देउवा को हुन्?
  14. Online Khabar: को हुन् देउवा ? के चाहन्छन् उनी ?
  15. Onlinekhabar: ती 'बहादुर' शेर, यी शेरबहादुर (2023-01-02)
  16. ekagaj: कांग्रेस संसदीय दलमा देउवाकाे चौथो इन्ट्री, यसअघि काे-काेसँग थियाे प्रतिस्पर्धामा ? (21 December 2022)
  17. Asian Survey: Nepal in 1996: Experimenting with a Coalition Government
  18. Asian Survey: Nepal in 1997: Political Stability Eludes
  19. Nepali Times: Nepal's Deuba forms 52-member cabinet
  20. BBC News: Nepal's Nepali Congress splits as Deuba forms new party (23 September 2002)
  21. BBC News: Nepal declares state of emergency (26 November 2001)
  22. Nepal Research: Comment on the Reinstatement of Sher Bahadur Deuba as PM

Last updated · facts checked 7 November 2026

Cite this page

"Sher Bahadur Deuba". DigiNepal. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/sher-bahadur-deuba. Retrieved 7 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Sher Bahadur Deuba, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Sher Bahadur Deuba November 2021 crop.jpg — Prime Minister's Office, GODL-India.

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