Note: Nepal’s politics since 2001 has had many short-lived governments, caretaker cabinets and non-consecutive terms for leaders, coalition governments, and prime ministers presidents appointed by political parties themselves. In the recent past years, the parties have been taken turns to seat the position of Prime Minister of the nation, by leader of the political parties. Here's the list of each Prime Minister term (name → party/coalition → start date — end date). Sources: Office of the Prime Minister (former PM list), Wikipedia timeline, Reuters and other major outlets for recent events. Sher Bahadur Deuba — Nepali Congress — 26 July 2001 – 4 October 2002. Lokendra Bahadur Chand — Royal-appointed / Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP)-aligned caretaker — 11 October 2002 – 5 June 2003. Surya Bahadur Thapa — RPP / royal-appointed — 5 June 2003 – 4 June 2004. Sher Bahadur Deuba — Nepali Congress — 4 June 2004 – 1 February 2005. Direct royal rule (King Gyanendra) — 1 February 2005 – April 2006. (King Gyanendra assumed direct power in Feb 2005; mass movement in April–June 2006 rolled back royal direct rule). Girija Prasad Koirala — Nepali Congress (transitional) — 25 April 2006 – 18 August 2008. (led transitional government during peace process and Constituent Assembly formation). Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) — Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) / Maoist Centre — 18 August 2008 – 25 May 2009. (first PM of the republic after monarchy abolished in 2008). Madhav Kumar Nepal — Communist Party of Nepal (UML) — 25 May 2009 – 6 February 2011. Jhala Nath Khanal — CPN (UML) — 6 February 2011 – 29 August 2011. Baburam Bhattarai — Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) / coalition — 29 August 2011 – 14 March 2013. Caretaker/transition (post-CA deadlock) and 2013 election period — March 2013 – February 2014 (interim arrangements while Constituent Assembly reconvened and elections concluded). Sushil Koirala — Nepali Congress — 11 February 2014 – 10 October 2015. K.P. Sharma Oli — CPN (UML) — 11 October 2015 – 12 August 2016. (first Oli term). Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) — Maoist Centre — 4 August 2016 – 7 June 2017. (second Dahal term; note overlap of coalition reshuffles in 2016–2017). Sher Bahadur Deuba — Nepali Congress — 7 June 2017 – 15 February 2018. K.P. Sharma Oli — CPN-UML (leading the left alliance / later merged CPN-UML+CPN (Maoist) briefly as Nepal Communist Party before split) — 15 February 2018 – 13 July 2021. (Oli led the government after the 2017 elections; this was one of the longer post-republic runs). Sher Bahadur Deuba — Nepali Congress — 13 July 2021 – 26 December 2022. (returned after Supreme Court rulings regarding dissolution of parliament and political rearrangements). Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) — Maoist Centre-led coalition — 26 December 2022 – 26 December 2022 → Mar 2023 and continuation with coalition reconfiguration — (Dahal sworn 26 Dec 2022; multiple coalition shifts followed in 2023). For detailed day-by-day coalition changes see timeline references. Pushpa Kamal Dahal (continued term) — Maoist Centre / shifting coalition — 26 December 2022 – 15 July 2024. (this term saw alliance shifts and eventual collapse leading into 2024 changes). K.P. Sharma Oli — CPN-UML — 15 July 2024 – 9 September 2025. (Oli returned to office in mid-2024; nationwide unrest and protests in Sept 2025 led to his resignation). Sushila Karki (Interim) — Interim / appointed by President — 9 September 2025 – incumbent interim (appointed amid widespread protests; first woman PM in Nepal’s history in an interim capacity). (Reuters/AP coverage of Sept 2025 appointment and dissolution of parliament; elections set for March 2026). — How to read this list: 1. Many leaders (Deuba, Dahal, Oli, Koirala) served multiple non-consecutive terms; parliamentary dissolutions, Supreme Court interventions and coalition re-arrangements produced rapid changes. 2. Governments formed by party / coalitions — summary counts & patterns (2001–2025) Nepali Congress (NC) — multiple terms (Deuba, Girija Prasad Koirala, Sushil Koirala): NC led or headed coalition governments repeatedly — notable NC-led terms: Koirala (2006–2008 transitional), Deuba (2001–02, 2004–05, 2017, 2021–22), Sushil Koirala (2014–2015). Communist Party of Nepal (UML / CPN-UML) — led governments under K.P. Sharma Oli (2015–16; 2018–2021; 2024–2025) and Madhav Kumar Nepal (2009–2011) and short UML PMs (Khanal). The UML has repeatedly formed either single-party minority governments or coalitions. Maoist / Maoist Centre / UCPN (Maoist) — Prachanda-led governments (2008–2009; 2016; 2022–2024) after the Maoists’ transition from insurgency to parliamentary politics. Coalitions with NC or UML at various times. Coalition governments have been the norm since the abolition of the monarchy — no single party has enjoyed a long, stable majority; coalition arithmetic changed frequently (alliances with regional parties, RPP, Rastriya Swatantra Party and others). See detailed timeline for each coalition partner per term. 3. Major corruption & national scandals (expanded list with short descriptions, key actors and approximate dates) Below are the major, widely reported scandals over the past ~20–25 years. Each item has a brief description, the years when it became public/was investigated, and key actors where publicly reported. I include sources you can follow for deeper reading. * Bhutanese Refugee / “fake-refugee” scam (long-running exposures; strong focus 2022–2024) What: Investigations showed networks that fraudulently registered Nepali citizens as Bhutanese refugees and processed payments promising resettlement abroad — implicating mediators, travel agents, intermediaries and some officials. When exposed: Investigative reporting and probes intensified from ~2021–2024 with arrests and inquiries. Key coverage: think-tank and investigative writeups detail the systemic nature and named intermediaries. * Cooperative sector frauds / cooperative collapses (2018–2023 wave) What: Multiple cooperative financial institutions collapsed or were alleged to have been looted/managed fraudulently; depositors lost significant sums and protests erupted; regulators and officials were accused of weak oversight or complicity in some cases. When: Peak revelations and failures 2019–2023, with ongoing legal cases and regulatory reforms. * Lalita Niwas land-grab scandal (exposed / litigated widely mid-2010s → 2020s) What: Allegations that state land (Lalita Niwas property and other public lands) was irregularly leased or transferred to private interests with political involvement; prompted investigations and public outcry. Key actors: Politicians, bureaucrats and private developers alleged in reporting and local court cases. * Tax Settlement Commission / revenue settlement controversies What: Accusations that the Tax Settlement Commission (or similar tax-settlement mechanisms) allowed large tax liabilities to be settled at disproportionately low amounts, causing significant revenue loss. Periodic probes and critiques by auditors and anti-corruption groups. * Ncell / telecom privatization controversies & related disputes What: The sale and ownership transfers in Nepal’s telecom sector (notably Ncell) produced controversies about valuation, ownership transparency and alleged underpricing; long-running legal and political debate. * 2015 Gorkha earthquake relief & reconstruction procurement controversies What: After the 25 April 2015 earthquake, large donor flows and reconstruction contracts raised concerns about procurement transparency, slow disbursement and unequal distribution; media and civil society criticized relief management. * Gold-smuggling and customs leak episodes What: Recurrent seizures and investigations pointed to smuggling rings and alleged collusion or negligence among customs/officials. These cases surfaced periodically in the 2010s and 2020s. * Vote-buying / clientelism (structural corruption) What: While not a single case, repeated election-time reporting and academic studies document vote-buying, patronage and clientelist distribution of resources — a structural problem affecting many elections since 2008. * Smaller high-profile procurement and local scandals What: Recurrent smaller but politically explosive scandals involving procurement fraud (municipal projects), health procurement (vaccines/medical supplies), and misuse of local development funds across provinces and municipalities (2010s–2020s). Local press and auditing bodies frequently reported such cases.

-Published on 9/17/2025