Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev (succeeded to the
throne 31 January 1972 following the death of his father King
MAHENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev, crowned king 24 February 1975); Heir
Apparent Crown Prince DIPENDRA Bir Bikram
head of government: Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 15
April 1998)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of
the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative
elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority
coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the National
Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives, 10
by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of
the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the
House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote
to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives—last held 15 November 1994 (next
to be held 3 May 1999)
election results: House of Representatives—percent of vote by
party—NCP 33%, CPN/UML 31%, NDP 18%, Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill)
Party 3%, NWPP 1%; seats by party— CPN/UML 88, NCP 83, NDP 20, NWPP
4, Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party 3, independents 7
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat), chief justice
is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional
Council, the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the
recommendation of the Judicial Council
Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Nepal/United
Madhar KUMAR, general secretary]; Nepali Congress Party or NCP
general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called
party chair]
Political pressure groups and leaders: numerous small,
left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical
Nepalese antimonarchist groups
International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW,
SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador THAPA Bekh Bahadur
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph FRANK
embassy: Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu
mailing address: use embassy street address
Flag description: red with a blue border around the unique shape
of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle
bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a
white 12-pointed sun