Sushila Karki sworn in as Nepal’s first woman prime minister
KATHMANDU: President Ramchandra Paudel has administered the oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed Prime Minister Sushila Karki, marking her swearing-in as Nepal’s first woman head of government.
Former chief justice Sushila Karki was appointed to lead the new interim government after the Office of the President built consensus on its formation, the office said. The agreement foresees dissolving parliament and forming a three-member cabinet tonight.
It is learnt that President Paudel made untiring efforts to build consensus following the Gen Z protests that led to the resignation of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday, creating a political vacuum. The Nepali Army also supported the consensus-building process and assisted in managing national security.
Born on June 7, 1952, in Biratnagar, Morang District, Karki is the eldest of seven siblings. She practised law in Biratnagar from 1979 and became a senior advocate by 2007. Appointed an ad hoc justice of the Supreme Court in January 2009, she was made permanent in 2010.
On July 11, 2016, she became Nepal’s first woman chief justice, serving until June 6, 2017 and earning a reputation for integrity and a firm stance against corruption. During her tenure, she sat on the full bench that quashed the government’s appointment of Jaya Bahadur Chand as Inspector General of Nepal Police on March 22, 2017, and she chaired a division bench in September 2016 that reopened the petition challenging Lok Man Singh Karki’s appointment as CIAA chief — actions that paved the way for his removal on January 8, 2017.
Prime Minister Karki is also the author of Kara, a novel inspired by her imprisonment during the 1990 People’s Movement, and Nyaya, an autobiographical account of her legal battles and judicial reforms in Nepal.
Further details on her interim administration are awaited.
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