Kathmandu, March 27: Balen Shah, parliamentary party leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, has taken the oath of office as Prime Minister.
President Ramchandra Paudel administered the oath to the 36-year-old Shah at a special ceremony held at Shital Niwas.
Earlier, President Paudel had appointed him Prime Minister under Article 76(1) of the Constitution, as the leader of the party commanding a majority in the House of Representatives. This marks the first time since the promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal 2015 that a Prime Minister has been appointed using this provision. It is also the first time that a person from the Madhesi community has become Prime Minister of Nepal.
Shah, who resigned as Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City to contest the February 4, 2026, elections, has become Prime Minister immediately upon entering Parliament for the first time. He was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives from Jhapa constituency no. 5, defeating former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli by a margin of nearly 50,000 votes.
During the oath-taking ceremony, Hindu priests recited Swastivachan, while Buddhist lamas delivered Mangala chants.
Meanwhile, newly appointed ministers have also taken the oath of office. President Paudel administered the oath to the ministers at the same ceremony held at the President’s Office, Shital Niwas.
Here is the list of those set to join the cabinet, including the Prime Minister:
- Balen Shah – Prime Minister, Defense, Industry
- Swarnim Wagle – Finance Minister
- Sudan Gurung – Home Minister
- Shishir Khanal – Foreign Minister
- Sobita Gautam – Law Minister
- Sasmit Pokharel – Education Minister
- Sunil Lamsal – Physical Infrastructure and Transport
- Pratibha Rawal – General Administration / Land, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation
- Sita Wadi – Women, Children and Senior Citizens
- Biraj Bhakta Shrestha – Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation
- Nisha Mehta – Health and Population
- Ganesh Paudel – Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
- Bikram Timalsina – Communications and Information Technology
- Dipak Sah – Labour, Employment and Social Security
- Gita Chaudhary – Agriculture and Livestock Development
People’s News Monitoring Service
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