Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form: Nepal
Government type:
parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
Capital:
Kathmandu
Administrative divisions:
14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri,
Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali,
Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti
Independence:
1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)
National holiday:
Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946)
Constitution:
9 November 1990
Legal system:
based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (succeeded to the
throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew, King DIPENDRA
Bir Bikram Shah)
head of government: Prime Minister Surya Bahadur THAPA (since 4 June
2003); note - Prime Minister CHAND resigned 30 May 2003
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
note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at
the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also claimed the lives of most
of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son, Crown Price DIPENDRA, is
believed to have been responsible for the shootings before fatally
wounding himself; immediately following the shootings and while
still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king; he died three
days later and was succeeded by his uncle
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)
note: Nepal's Parliament was dissolved on 22 May 2002
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana
Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%;
seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana
Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1
elections: House of Representatives - last held 3 and 17 May 1999
(next election NA)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or 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 Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav
Kumar NEPAL, general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP
(also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA,
chairman]; National People's Front (Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Chitra
Bahadur, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Bhadri
Prasad MANDAL, acting party president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants
Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chairman]; Nepali
Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president; Sushil
KOIRALA, general secretary]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani
POKHAREL, general secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL also known as
Prahanda, chairman; and chief negotiator, Dr. Baburam BHATTARAI,
from Communist Party of Nepal/Maoist]; numerous small, left-leaning
student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese
antimonarchist groups
International organization participation:
AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO
(correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTSO,
UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Jai Pratap RANA
FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534
consulate(s) general: New York
telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael E. MALINOWSKI
embassy: Panipokhari, Kathmandu
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [977] (1) 411179
FAX: [977] (1) 419963
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