B. P. Koirala

Prime Minister of Nepal

8 September 1914 Varanasi, British India

21 July 1982(1982-07-21) (67) Kathmandu, Nepal

27 May 1959 – 15 December 1960

Nepalese politician and writer Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala meets David Ben-Gurion during a visit to Israel Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (Nepali: विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला ; 8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982) was a Nepali politician and a prolific writer. He was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1959 to 1960. He led the Nepali Congress, a social democratic political party. Koirala was the first democratically elected and 22nd Prime Minister of Nepal. He held the office for 18 months before being deposed and imprisoned at the instruction of King Mahendra. The rest of his life was spent largely in prison or exile and in steadily deteriorating health. Widely regarded as one of the greatest political personalities of Nepal, Koirala was a staunch supporter of democracy. He asserted that guarantees of individual liberty and civil and political rights alone were not sufficient in a poor country like Nepal, and that democratic socialism was the solution to Nepal's underdevelopment.