Bidhya Devi Bhandari

Her Grace The Right Honourable Bidhya Devi Bhandari विद्या देवी भण्डारी
2nd President of Nepal
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 October 2015
Prime Minister	Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli
Vice President	Nanda Kishor Pun
Preceded by	Ram Baran Yadav
Minister of Defence
In office 25 May 2009 – 6 February 2011
Prime Minister	Madhav Kumar Nepal
Preceded by	Ram Bahadur Thapa
Succeeded by	Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar
Personal details
Born	19 June 1961 Mane Bhanjyang, Nepal
Political party	Communist Party of Nepal (UML)(1978-2015)
Spouse(s)	Madan Bhandari (1982–1993)
Children	2
Religion	Hinduism

Bidhya Devi Bhandari (Nepali: विद्या देवी भण्डारी; born 19 June 1961) is the second and current President of Nepal, elected in 2015. She is the first woman to hold the office.^[1][2][3] She was the vice-chairperson^[4] of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and chair of the All Nepal Women Association before winning the presidential election on 28 October 2015.^[5] She was elected as President in a parliamentary vote, receiving 327 votes out of 549 and defeating Kul Bahadur Gurung. She previously served as the Minister of Defence of the government of Nepal and was the first woman in Nepal to hold the post.^[6][7][8]

Early life

Bidhya Devi Bhandari was born on 19 June 1961, in Mane Bhanjyang of Bhojpur, to Ram Bahadur Pandey and Mithila Pandey.^[9] She joined student politics at an early age.

Bhandari was elected twice in parliamentary elections in 1994 and 1999, defeating Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Damanath Dhungana, respectively.^[10] However, she lost during the 2008 Constituent Assembly poll. She held the post of Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. The party elected her under the proportional electoral system in the second Constituent Assembly elections in 2013.

Political career

Bhandari was active in politics from an early age. According to the details provided by the CPN-UML, Bhandari joined politics as an activist of the Youth League of CPN (ML) in 1978, from Bhojpur.^[11] She played a role as an In-charge for Eastern Zone Committee of ANNFSU from 1979 to 1987. Her active political journey, however, started when she received party membership from the CPN (ML) in 1980. After completing her school level study, Bhandari was enrolled in Mahendra Morang Adrsha Multiple Campus where she was elected as a Treasurer for Federation of Students' Union (FSU). Also, she played a pivotal role as a chairperson of the women's wing of GEFONT from 1993 before being elected as UML central committee member in 1997. Her influence in the party remained dominant when she was elected as vice-chairperson of the party in its eighth general convention held in Butwal.^[12] Bhandari, who retained her vice-chairperson position in the party's general convention, was considered as one of the confident leaders of party chairman and Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli.

Personal life

Bhandari was married to Madan Bhandari, a popular Nepalese communist leader, who died in a car accident near Dasdhunga in Nepal's Chitwan District in 1993. The accident is alleged to have been a murder, but currently remains unsolved.^[13]

References

1. "Nepal gets first woman President". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
2. "Bidhya Devi Bhandari elected Nepal's first female president". BBC Asia News. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
3. "Bidya Devi Bhandari elected first woman President of Nepal". Kantipur News. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
4. "Who is Bidya Devi Bhandari?". Himalayan News. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
5. "The Himalayan Times: Oli elected UML chairman mixed results in other posts – Detail News: Nepal News Portal". The Himalayan Times. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
6. "Nepali Times | The Brief » Blog Archive » Enemies within". nepalitimes.com. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
7. "Women of Nepal". wwj.org.np. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
8. "Related News | Bidya Bhandari". ekantipur.com. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
9. "Nepal gets first female head of state". Setopati. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
10. "Bidhya Bhandari- probable first female President of Nepal". One Click Nepal. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
11. "Who is Bidya Devi Bhandari? What are the 10 things you need to know about her?". Indiatoday.in. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
12. "Bidhya Devi Bhandari elected first female president". My Republica News. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
13. "Who is Bidya Devi Bhandari?". The Himalayan Times. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.

External links

• Official website of the President of Nepal (Nepali)