B. P. Koirala

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982), was a Nepalese revolutionary, statesman, politician, novelist, and one of the founding leaders of the Nepali Congress. He was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal, serving from 1959 to 1960, until the royal coup of 1960 led by King Mahendra. He played a leading role in Nepal’s democratic movements, particularly the 1950–1951 revolution, which brought an end to the 104-year-long Rana rule of Nepal. He was the brother of former prime ministers Matrika Prasad Koirala and Girija Prasad Koirala. He was also the grandfather of Bollywood actors Manisha Koirala and Siddharth Koirala. B. P. Koirala was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal. He held the office for 18 months before being deposed and imprisoned on the orders of King Mahendra. He spent the rest of his life largely in imprisonment and exile, during which his health steadily deteriorated. B. P. Koirala is widely regarded as one of the greatest political personalities in Nepal. He was a strong advocate of democracy and argued that in a poor country like Nepal, political freedoms alone were not sufficient without socio-economic transformation. He promoted the idea of democratic socialism as a solution to Nepal's underdevelopment.