Rana Jang Pande

Third Prime Minister of Nepal

1789 A.D Kathmandu

18 April 1843 A.D Kathmandu

1837 A.D – 1837 A.D

Rana Jang Pande (Nepali: रणजङ्ग पाँडे ) was the 3rd Prime Minister of the government of Nepal and the most powerful person in political scenario in three decades from the aristocratic Pande clan. He was one of the sons of Mukhtiyar Kaji Damodar Pande. He served as the Prime Minister for two terms, serving 1837–1837 (First Term) and 1839–1840 AD (Second Term). He became powerful after Bhimsen Thapa was arrested, and was declared Mukhtiyar and Commander in Chief. He was a grandson of Kaji Kalu Pandey who was the commander of King Prithvi Narayan Shah and the Mulkaji of Gorkha and a notable figure during the unification campaign of Nepal. The death of Queen Tripurasundari in 1832, who was a distant cousin of Rana Jang and the strongest supporter and niece of Bhimsen Thapa, and the adulthood of King Rajendra, weakened Bhimsen Thapa's hold on power. The conspiracies and infighting with rival courtiers (especially the Pandes, who held Bhimsen Thapa responsible for the death of Damodar Pande in 1804) finally led to imprisonment of Bhimsen Thapa and death by suicide in 1839. However, the court infighting did not subside with his death, and the political instability eventually paved way for the establishment of the Rana dynasty.