Gyanendra of Nepal

Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
King of Nepal
Coronation	4 June 2001
Reign	7 November 1950 - 7 January 1951
Predecessor	Tribhuvan (his Grandfather) (1st Reign)
Successor	Tribhuvan
Reign	4 June 2001 – 28 May 2008
Predecessor	Dipendra (his Nephew) (2nd Reign)
Successor	Monarchy abolished Girija Prasad Koirala Acting Head of State of Nepal
Born	(1947-07-07) 7 July 1947 Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu, Nepal
Consort	Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah
Issue	Paras, Crown Prince of Nepal Princess Prerana
Full name Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
Dynasty	Shah dynasty
Father	Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
Mother	Indra Rajya Laxmi Devi
Religion	Hindu

Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (Nepali: ज्ञानेन्द्र शाह; Jñānendra Śāh; born 7 July 1947) was the King of Nepal from 2001 to 2008. As a child, he was also briefly king from 1950 to 1951, when his grandfather, Tribhuvan, went into exile in India with the rest of his family. Following the Nepalese royal massacre in 2001, he again became king.

Gyanendra's second reign was marked by constitutional turmoil. His predecessor 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 King Gyanendra's reign interfered with elections of representatives. After several delays in elections, King Gyanendra suspended the constitution and assumed direct authority in February 2005, assuring that it would be a temporary situation to suppress the Maoist insurgency. In the face of broad opposition, he restored the previous parliament in April 2006. His reign ended approximately two years later, when the Nepalese Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a republic and abolished the monarchy.

Early life and first reign

Gyanendra was born in the old Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu, as the second son of Crown Prince Mahendra and his first wife, Crown Princess Indra. After his birth, his father was told by a court astrologer not to look at his newborn son because it would bring him bad luck, so Gyanendra was sent to live with his grandmother.

Mahendra of Nepal (his father) in Communist Romania meeting with Chivu Stoica, 1967

In November 1950, during a political plot, both his father and his grandfather King Tribhuvan, along with other royals, fled to India, leaving the young Prince Gyanendra as the only male member of the royal family in Nepal. He was brought back to the capital Kathmandu by the Prime Minister Mohan Shamsher, who had him declared King on 7 November 1950. Gyanendra was not only crowned but coins were issued in his name. The Rana Prime Minister provided a three hundred thousand rupee annual budget as expenditure for the King. After opposition to the hereditary rule of the Rana Prime Ministers from India, a deal was reached in January 1951, and his grandfather 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 was not internationally recognized.

He studied with his elder brother King Birendra in St Joseph's College, Darjeeling, India; in 1969, he graduated from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu.

Gyanendra 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 National Trust for Nature Conservation) from 1982 until his ascension to the throne in 2001.

Gyanendra married his second cousin Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah on 1 May 1970 in Kathmandu. They have two children:

• Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev (born on 30 December 1971).
• Princess Prerana Rajya Lakshmi Devi Singh (born on 20 February 1978).

Succession

Main article: Nepalese royal massacre

The events surrounding the Massacre on 1 June 2001 have proved very controversial in the country. A two-man investigation team appointed by Gyanendra, and made up of Keshav Prasad Upadhaya, then Supreme Court Chief Justice, and Taranath Ranabhat, then speaker of the House of Representatives, carried out a week-long investigation. After interviewing more than 100 people—including eyewitnesses, palace officials, guards, and staff, they concluded that, indeed, Crown Prince Dipendra had carried out the massacre, but did not draw any further conclusions. As his nephew lay in a coma, Prince Gyanendra was named regent; but following King Dipendra's death on 4 June 2001, King Gyanendra ascended the throne.

Early reign

During his early years in the throne, Gyanendra sought to exercise full control over the government citing the failure of all the political parties to hold an election after the parliament was dissolved. In May 2002, he supported the popularly-elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba when he dismissed the parliament elected in 1999. In October 2002, he dismissed Deuba and consolidated his power for the first time. During the years 2002 to 2005 he chose and subsequently dismissed three prime ministers for failure to hold election and bring rebels to round table negotiation, finally dismissing Deuba for the second time and taking over as absolute ruler on 1 February 2005, promising the country would return to normalcy within thirty six months. His elder brother King Birendra had negotiated a constitutional monarchy during his rule in a delicate manner in which he, as King, played a minor role in government. Thus, King Gyanendra's confrontational approach with the established political parties was met with widespread censure.

When Gyanendra took complete control for the second time, on 1 February 2005, he dismissed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's government of failing to make arrangements for parliamentary elections and of being unable to restore peace in the country, then in the midst of a civil war led by Maoist insurgents.

Gyanendra promised that "peace and effective democracy" would be restored within three years, but the period of direct rule was accompanied by repression of dissent. International organizations expressed grave concerns about the safety of journalists, following the king's decision to restrict civil liberties, including freedom of the press, the constitutional protection against censorship and the right against preventive detention.

Styles of His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
Reference style	His Royal Majesty
Spoken style	Your Royal Majesty
Alternative style	Sir

In April 2006, the seven party alliance and the then banned political party CPN Maoist in an under ground manner staged protests and strikes in Kathmandu against Gyanendra's direct rule. The royal government exercised minimum restraint but responded by declaring a curfew to control the deteriorating situation, which was enforced with live firearms and tear gas. After 23 protestors were killed, on 21 April 2006, Gyanendra announced that he would yield executive authority to a new prime minister chosen by the political parties to oversee the return of democracy. Several party leaders rejected the offer and again demanded that the King call a council to determine the monarchy's future role in politics. An agreement was reached between the parties under the supervision of the Indian ruling Congress that monarchy would have a place in the new constitution. Girija Prasad Koirala was appointed prime minister in the interim. Girija Prasad, as the main leader, had talks with the King and the agreement for monarchy's position. As such, on 24 April 2006, King Gyanendra reinstated the previous parliament in a televised address to the nation.

End of direct rule

The agreement between the parties and Gyanendra under Indian supervision was not honored by the parties. It is widely believed that the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad saw an opportunity to become the first president of Nepal by declaring Nepal a republic state. On 10 June 2006, the Parliament scrapped the major powers of the King, including his right to veto laws. This ended the idea of a "King in Parliament", and he was reduced to a figurehead, though for a time he continued to offer felicitations and to receive diplomats. According to Article 167 of the constitution, all executive powers as well as those enjoyed by the King in the previous Constitution were now vested in the prime minister. All powers of the 239-year-old monarchy were stripped, making Gyanendra a civilian king.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who previously supported the continuation of the monarchy, said in March, 2007 that he thought the Gyanendra should step down. In June, Koirala repeated his call for King Gyanendra to abdicate in favour of his grandson Prince Hridayendra.

On 23 August 2007 Nepal's transitional government nationalised all the properties Gyanendra inherited from his brother including the Narayanhity Royal Palace. The move did not affect the properties he owned before his accession to the throne.

Interim Suspension of the monarchy

It was announced on 24 December 2007, that the monarchy would probably be suspended in 2008, following the approval, as part of a peace deal with Maoist rebels, of the Nepalese Parliament in favour of a bill that would see the constitution amended so as to make Nepal a republic.

On 27 May 2008 the meeting decided to give Gyanendra fifteen days to vacate the palace, and decided that the first meeting would be held the next day at 11am (but was delayed due to the indecision among the leading parties on power-sharing and the nomination of 26 members of the Constituent Assembly).

On 28 May 2008 the monarchy was officially given no space in the amended constitution of 1990 and replaced with a republic by the Constituent Assembly instead of referendum. Gyanendra accepted the decision in the following days. As he was required to leave Narayanhiti, he asked the government to make residential arrangements for him on 1 June, and on 4 June the government decided to give Nagarjuna Palace to Gyanendra.

Gyanendra departed the Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu on 11 June 2008, moving into the Nagarjuna Palace. His new residence consists of ten buildings including the royal residence Hemanta Bas, three guest houses (Barsha Bas, Sharad Bas and Grishma Bas), one office secretariat and one staff quarters. Gyanendra and his family moved into the two-storey Hemanta Bas. Following his departure the Narayanhiti Palace was turned into a museum, while Gyanendra's diamond- and ruby-encrusted Crown and royal sceptre, along with all the other crown jewels and royal assets, became government property. The royal family's departure from the palace was reported as being a "major symbolic moment in the fall of the Shah dynasty, which had unified Nepal in the 1760s".

Transition to interim republic

Gyanendra, in an interview with foreign reporters published on 9 April 2008, expressed dissatisfaction over the decision made by the interim parliament to abolish the monarchy after the 10 April Constituent Assembly election. The interview was published in Japan's leading newspaper, Daily Yomiuri. Speaking to a select group of Japanese correspondents at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace on 4 February 2008, King Gyanendra said, "[The decision] doesn't reflect the majority view of the people. This isn't democracy." He, however, conceded that the people do have the right to choose the fate of the monarchy.

Gyanendra also said the law and order in the country was deteriorating, questioning the interim government's ability to govern the country even after he had accepted the road map of the seven-party alliance. Citing the recent survey which showed 49 percent of respondents favoured the continuation of the monarchy in some form, Gyanendra claimed, "A majority of the people find great meaning in the institution of the monarchy. In all clouds, there is a silver lining. Let us hope."

Gyanendra had broken his closely guarded silence in an interview with a Nepali weekly paper in which he said he remained silent to "let the peace process succeed". On 7 February 2008 the BBC reported Gyanendra as saying to Japanese journalists: "The Nepali people themselves should speak out on where the nation is heading, on the direction it is taking and on why it is becoming chaotic [...]." He claimed that his attempt on 1 February 2005 was for a good purpose—restoring peace and stability in the country. He said that his attempt was not a success and so the countrymen are suffering at present.

In an interview, the Gyanendra's advisor, Bharat Keshar Singh, claimed that the bill passed by the parliament was a bluff. Replying to the question raised regarding the King's silence even after the bill was passed declaring the state a republic, he said that there was nothing for which the King had to respond. He claimed that the parliament which declared a republic was reinstated by the King himself and has no authority to dethrone the same King. He claimed that the King was examining the activities of the government and the parliament and was waiting for a suitable time for responding to them. He said that no people would accept the "bill" unless decided by a referendum or elected members in the constituent assembly.

On 15 January 2007 the interim parliament was set up with CPN-M included, and on 1 April 2007, the interim government joined by CPN-M was formed. On 28 December 2007, the Nepali interim parliament approved a bill for the amendment to the constitution of 1990 promulgated on 15 January 2007, with a clause stating that Nepal would become a federal democratic republic, to be implemented by the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly elections.

Developments after the demise of Constituent Assembly

In an interview with News 24 TV channel in 2012, Gyanendra stated that he would return as the King of Nepal, though, he did not state a particular time frame. When asked if he would consider becoming actively involved in politics, he said that he is not a politician. He also dismissed the need for a referendum on bringing the institution of monarchy back into power. He asserted that since the politicians had not asked the people via a referendum to abolish the institution, a referendum to bring him back was not needed.

Gyanendra also stated in the interview with News24 that a written agreement existed between the politicians and himself that the Constitutional Monarchy would be returned when he gave up his powers to the politicians and restored the Parliament that he had sacked.

Protest in Myagdi

Soon after news of a 2012 10 day personal visit to Parbat district came out, ten political parties of the district organized a corner assembly at Shibalaya Chowk of Kusmabazaar and decided to protest at Gyanendra's visit. Leaders speaking at the corner assembly called on Gyanendra to stop his visit and also warned that they would obstruct his tour forcibly if he started it. Nevertheless, Gyanendra left for Pokhara. There was no protest on the first day. He walked through the general public for more than a kilometre (0.62 mile) in the rain. However, the scheduled visit of Gyanendra to Myagdi was cancelled following opposition from different political parties. He had planned to worship at various holy shrines in the district. This action of political parties and the Maoist government in obstructing Gyanendra's visit attracted worldwide criticism from democratic corners.

Titles, styles and honours

Titles

• 7 July 1947 – 7 November 1950: His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra of Nepal.
• 7 November 1950 – 8 January 1951: His Majesty The King of Nepal.
• 8 January 1951 – 4 June 2001: His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra of Nepal.
• 4 June 2001 – 28 May 2008: His Majesty The King of Nepal.

He was crowned two times. His official full style during his reign was: His Holy Majesty, King of the Lands of the Nepalese People and Knight of the Holy.

Honours

National orders

• Sovereign of the Order of Nepal Pratap Bhaskara
• Sovereign of the Order of Ojaswi Rajanya
• Sovereign of the Order of Nepal Taradisha
• Sovereign of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta
• Sovereign of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu
• Most Glorious Mahendra Chain
• Birendra Chain (29 December 2002)
• King Mahendra Investiture Medal (2 May 1956)
• King Birendra Investiture Medal (24 February 1975)
• Commemorative Silver Jubilee Medal of King Birendra (31 January 1997)

Foreign orders

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange, 25 April 1967
• King Jigme Singye Investiture Medal (02/06/1974)
• Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the White Elephant, 1979
• Knight Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit, 2 May 1983
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, 1986
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, 13 November 1987
• Knight Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 25 November 1996
• Nishan-e-Imtiaz, 1970
• Sash of the Order of the Yugoslav Flag 1st Rank, 2 February 1974
• Commander of the Order of the Golden Ark, 1987
• Knight Grand Cordon of Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud, 1983
• Grand Gwanghwa Medal (First Class) of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit, 1987
• Knight of the Order of Korean Labour, 1978

Ancestry

Family of Gyanendra of Nepal

16. Trailokya, Crown Prince of Nepal               8. King Prithvi of Nepal                       17. Lalit Rajya Laxmi Devi               4. King Tribhuvan of Nepal                             9. Divyeshwari Rajya Laxmi Devi                       2. King Mahendra of Nepal                                   10. Arjan Singh Sahib, Raja of Chhatara, Barhgaon and Oudh                       5. Kanti Rajya Laxmi Devi                             11. Krishnavati Devi Sahiba                       1. King Gyanendra of Nepal                                         24. Dhir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana               12. Juddha Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski                       25. Juhar Kumari Devi               6. Hari Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski                             26. N. Bikram Shah               13. Jetha Bada Maharani Padma Kumari                       3. Indra Rajya Laxmi Devi                                   14. N. Bikram Shah                       7. Megha Kumari Rajya Laxmi

See also

• Nepal

External links

• Unofficial translation of the commission report on the palace incident
• King of Nepal is stoned by crowd. BBC 16 February 2007
• Biography at the Wayback Machine (archived February 20, 2004)
• Nepal News Feed - News Headlines

Gyanendra of Nepal House of Shah Born: 07 July 1947
Regnal titles
Preceded by Tribhuvan	King of Nepal 1950–1951	Succeeded by Tribhuvan
Preceded by Dipendra	King of Nepal 2001–2008	Republic declared
Political offices
Preceded by Dipendra	Head of State of Nepal 2001–2007	Succeeded by Girija Prasad Koirala
Titles in pretence
Loss of title Monarchy abolished	— TITULAR — King of Nepal 2008 – present	Incumbent Heir: Paras