Nepal’s former Prime Minister and leader of the Nepali Congress, Sushil Koirala, passed away on February 9, 2016. The five month old economic blockade had finally come to an end when Koirala breathed his last in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, succumbing to a bout of pneumonia and fever. He was 78. Koirala was a heavy smoker and had been diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2006, and lung cancer in 2014.
Born on 12 August 1939, Koirala was elected as Prime Minister of Nepal by the parliament on February 9, 2014 and he remained in the post until, honoring a pledge to stand down as prime minister once the new constitution came into effect, Koirala resigned on October 10, 2015. He was the 37th Prime Minister of Nepal. He was also President of the Nepali Congress party from 2010 until his death.
Koirala was known as an uncorrupt politician who actually wanted to become an actor before he joined the Nepali Congress party in 1952. During his political career, he even moved to India in political exile where he remained for 16 years following the royal takeover of 1960. In 2013, the Nepali Congress emerged as the largest party in the Constituent Assembly elections under Koirala’s leadership.
During his tenure as Prime Minister, his government was criticized for its slow aid response to the earthquake of April 2015 and at the same time, a historic agreement among four major political parties was also made later that year, which paved the way for a new constitution in the country.
Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj termed Sushil Koirala as man of high thinking and simple living and said that India had lost a true friend. A large number of people turned up at Dasarath Rangasala to pay their last respects to a man who will be remembered for his simple outlook. Koirala was cremated on Wednesday, February 10, according to Hindu rites at Aryaghat where his nephews jointly lit the funeral pyre.
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