Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev

Gyanendra Shah (Nepali: ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर बिक्रम शाह; Jñānendra Vīra Bikrama Śāh) (born 7 July 1947) was the last King of Nepal. During his life, he has held the title of the King twice: first between 1950 and 1951 as a child when his grandfather Tribhuvan was forced into exile in India with the rest of his family; and from 2001 to 2008, following the Nepalese royal massacre.

King Gyanendra's second reign ended in 2008, when the monarchy was abolished and the interim Federal Republic of Nepal formed in its place. Gyanendra became a private citizen and was stripped of his royal status.

Unable to hold the election on time, the then Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba, repeatedly asked for continuances with the King. Citing the failure of the Prime Minister to hold the election, King Gyanendra sacked the cabinet and assumed power and formed a new government. In February 2005, King Gyanendra took complete control of the government, dismissing the elected parliament (Parliament was dismissed in 2002 when King Gyanendra sacked the government of PM Sher Bahadur Deuba). He gave assurances that the country would return to normalcy and prosperity in three years. Following opposition to his direct rule he was forced to return power to the parliament in April 2006, which in turn reduced the King's status to that of a ceremonial monarch. He continued as such until 28 May 2008 when the Constituent Assembly controlled by the Maoists decided to depose him and declared Nepal an interim republic until a republican constitution was promulgated. The constitution drafting deadline expired on May 28, 2010 with no new constitution in place. There have been some calls from parties loyal to the monarchy for a referendum to decide on the need for a monarchy after the constitutional crisis brought about the resignation of the Maoist-led government.

Early Life and First Reign

Gyanendra was born in Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu, as the second son of Crown Prince Mahendra and his 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.

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.

Prince 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 Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah on 1 May 1970 in Kathmandu. They have two children.

    * Prince Paras Shah of Nepal (born 30 December 1971)

    * Princess Prerana Singh of Nepal (born 20 February 1978).

Succession

The events surrounding the Royal 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, Gyanendra was named regent; but following Dipendra's death on 4 June 2001, Gyanendra ascended the throne.

Early Reign

During his early years on the throne, King Gyanendra sought to exercise full control over the government because of the failure of all parties. 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, finally dismissing Deuba for the second time and taking over as absolute ruler on 1 February 2005. His 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 King Gyanendra took complete control for the second time, on 1 February 2005, he accused 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.

King 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 Gyanendra countered, saying that "democracy and progress contradict one another" as a necessary step in restoring peace to the country.

In April 2006, the Maoists and Sister Organizations staged protests and strikes in Kathmandu against King 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. On 21 April 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. 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, King under the supervision of Indian ruling Congress including Dr. Karan Singh 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 space. As such, on 24 April 2006, King Gyanendra reinstated the previous parliament in a televised address to the nation.

End of direct rule

Mysteriously, the agreement between the parties and King 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 King 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 King 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 King Gyanendra inherited from his brother including the Narayanhity Royal Palace. The move did not affect the properties he owned before his ascension to the throne.

Transition to interim republic

King Gyanendra, in an interview with foreign reporters, expressed dissatisfaction over the decision made by the interim parliament to abolish the monarchy after the 10 April Constituent Assembly elections. 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, 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.

The King 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 roadmap of the seven-party alliance. Citing the recent survey which showed 49 percent of respondents favoured the continuation of the monarchy in some form, King 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 pro-monarchist weekly paper in which he said he remained silent to "let the peace process succeed." The King said, "Nepalese 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 wasn’t a success and so the countrymen are suffering at present.

In an interview taken with the King’s ‘advisor’, Bharat Keshar Singh, he claimed that the bill passed from 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 will turn into a federal democratic republic, to be implemented by the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly elections.

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 the King 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. King 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.

King 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.”

From : www.wikipedia.org