Kathmandu: Nepal has appointed its first female prime minister, former chief justice Sushila Karki, following an extraordinary week of nationwide unrest that toppled the government of KP Sharma Oli and led to the dissolution of parliament.
Karki, 71, took the oath of office late Friday, capping days of tense negotiations after mass protests by Nepal’s younger generation forced a dramatic political shake-up. She will lead an interim government until fresh elections scheduled for March 5, 2026.
Her nomination came directly from representatives of the so-called Gen Z movement, the youth-led protests that erupted earlier in the week. The demonstrations began as an outcry against a sudden ban on social media platforms but quickly grew into a wider revolt against corruption, nepotism, and authoritarianism in the political establishment.
On Monday, tens of thousands of demonstrators, most under the age of 30, filled the streets of Kathmandu and other major cities. Security forces responded with force, including the use of live ammunition, leaving 21 civilians dead in the country’s bloodiest day of protest.
By Tuesday, fury at the government boiled over as parliament buildings and the homes of senior leaders, including Prime Minister Oli, were torched. Oli, 73, who had been airlifted to safety by the military, resigned hours after the incident.
Karki, who became Nepal’s first female chief justice in 2016, is widely respected for her uncompromising stance against corruption. She presided over several high-profile cases that brought ministers and senior police officials to account, often clashing with the country’s political elite.
Since retiring from the judiciary, she has remained active in civil society, regularly speaking out against political malpractice. Her outspoken condemnation of the deadly police crackdown on protesters this week, which she described as a massacre, further cemented her credibility with the youth movement.
Despite initial divisions among political parties over dissolving parliament, Karki’s nomination gained momentum after she was endorsed by Kathmandu’s mayor, Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician widely admired by Nepal’s younger generation.
The deadlock broke on Friday when Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel warned that the military would declare a state of emergency if no political solution was reached. Party leaders relented, agreeing to dissolve parliament and install Karki as interim prime minister.
Karki now faces immense pressure to launch investigations into corruption allegations against Oli and his ministers, as well as inquiries into the protest deaths.
