King Gyanendra Shah of Nepal

 

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 Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (Nepali: ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; born July 7, 1947) is a former monarch and the last King of Nepal, reigning from 2001 to 2008. As a child, he briefly served as king from 1950 to 1951 when his grandfather, Tribhuvan, took political exile in India with the rest of the royal family. His second reign began after the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre. Gyanendra Shah is the first person in the history of Nepal to be king twice and the last king of the Shah dynasty of Nepal.

Gyanendra's second reign was marked by constitutional turmoil. His brother, King Birendra, had established a constitutional monarchy in which he delegated policy to a representative government. The growing insurgency of the Nepalese Civil War during Gyanendra's reign interfered with elections. After several delays, Gyanendra suspended the constitution and assumed direct authority in February 2005, asserting that it would be a temporary measure to suppress the Maoist insurgency after civil governments had failed to do so. In the face of broad opposition, he restored the previous parliament in April 2006. He was deposed two years later by the first session of the Constituent Assembly, which declared Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic and abolished the 240-year-old Shah dynasty.

### Early Life and First Reign
Gyanendra was born on July 7, 1947, in the old Narayanhiti Royal Palace in Kathmandu, as the second son of Crown Prince Mahendra and Crown Princess Indra. After his birth, his father was advised by a court astrologer not to look at his newborn son as it would bring bad luck, so Gyanendra was sent to live with his grandmother.

In November 1950, during a political plot, both his father and grandfather, King Tribhuvan, along with other royals, fled to India, leaving the infant Prince Gyanendra as the only male member of the royal family in Nepal. He was brought back to Kathmandu by Prime Minister Mohan Shamsher, who had him declared king on November 7, 1950. Not only was Gyanendra crowned, but coins were issued in his name. The Rana prime minister provided a 300,000 rupee annual budget for the young king. Following opposition to the hereditary rule of the Rana prime ministers, a deal was reached in January 1951, and King Tribhuvan returned to Nepal and resumed the throne. The actions of the Rana regime to depose his grandfather and place Gyanendra on the throne were not internationally recognized.

Gyanendra studied with his elder brother King Birendra at St. Joseph's School in Darjeeling, India, and graduated from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, in 1969. He served as the chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Coronation of his brother King Birendra in 1975. He is a keen conservationist and served as chairman of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (later known as the National Trust for Nature Conservation) from 1982 until his re-accession to the throne in 2001.

Gyanendra married his second cousin Komal Rajya Lakhsmi Devi on May 1, 1970, in Kathmandu. They have two children: Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev (born on December 30, 1971) and Princess Prerana Rajya Lakshmi Devi Singh (born on February 20, 1978).

### Succession and the Nepalese Royal Massacre
Gyanendra again assumed the throne after many royal family members, including King Birendra, were assassinated on June 1, 2001, by Gyanendra's nephew Crown Prince Dipendra, who was briefly king before succumbing to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The events and the ensuing investigation were very controversial. A two-man investigation team concluded that Dipendra had carried out the massacre.

### Second Reign
During his early years on the throne, Gyanendra sought to exercise full control over the government, citing the failure of all political parties to hold elections after parliament was dissolved. In May 2002, he supported Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba when he dismissed the parliament elected in 1999. In October 2002, he dismissed Deuba and consolidated his power. Between 2002 and 2005, he appointed and dismissed three prime ministers for failing to hold elections and negotiate with rebels. On February 1, 2005, he dismissed Deuba again and took over as absolute ruler, promising peace and effective democracy within three years. His confrontational approach met widespread censure.

In April 2006, a coalition of seven parties and the banned CPN Maoist party staged protests and strikes in Kathmandu against King Gyanendra's direct rule. The royal government declared a curfew to control the situation, but 23 protesters were killed. On April 21, 2006, King Gyanendra announced that he would yield executive authority to a new prime minister chosen by the political parties to oversee the return of democracy. An agreement was reached to determine the monarchy's future role in politics. Girija Prasad Koirala was appointed interim prime minister. On April 24, 2006, Gyanendra reinstated the previous parliament in a televised address.

### End of Direct Rule and Abolition of Monarchy
The agreement between the parties and Gyanendra was not honored by the parties. On June 10, 2006, the parliament scrapped the major powers of the king, reducing him to a figurehead. On August 23, 2007, Nepal's transitional government nationalized all properties Gyanendra inherited from his brother, including the Narayanhiti Royal Palace.

It was announced on December 24, 2007, that the monarchy would likely be suspended in 2008 as part of a peace deal with Maoist rebels. On May 28, 2008, the Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a republic, officially ending the monarchy without a referendum. Gyanendra accepted the decision and left the Narayanhiti Palace on June 11, 2008, moving into the Nagarjuna Palace. His departure marked a symbolic moment in the fall of the Shah dynasty, which had unified Nepal in the 1760s.

### Later Life
In interviews, Gyanendra expressed dissatisfaction with the decision to abolish the monarchy without a referendum and claimed that the majority of people still valued the monarchy. Despite this, he conceded that the people have the right to choose the fate of the monarchy. He has continued to express concern over the country's political situation and the ability of the interim government to govern effectively.

In July 2019, Gyanendra's birthday was observed by thousands of Nepalese who marched to his residence at Nirmal Niwas Palace. In February 2023, he attended a public event in Jhapa calling for the transformation of Nepal from a secular country into a Hindu kingdom.

### Wealth
Despite the nationalization of properties he inherited from his brother, Gyanendra retained significant personal wealth from his business ventures. He is reported to have investments in various companies and properties, including Soaltee Hotel, Himalayan Goodricke Tea, Surya Nepal Tobacco, and many others. His net worth is believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

### Honours
Gyanendra has received various national and international honors, including the Order of Nepal Pratap Bhaskara, Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (France), and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain).