Sushil Koirala

Early Life and the Fight for Democracy

Born on August 12, 1939, in Biratnagar, Sushil Koirala joined the Nepali Congress Party in 1954 as a teenager. When King Mahendra overthrew the elected government in a royal coup in 1960, Koirala went into political exile in India, where he spent years working to restore democracy. During exile, he edited the party periodical in Varanasi and participated in underground activities against the partyless Panchayat system.

He returned to Nepal in 1979 and actively participated in the Jana Andolan I people’s movement of 1990, which restored multiparty democracy. He rose through party ranks to become general secretary in 1996, vice president in 1998, and ultimately party president after Girija Prasad Koirala’s death in 2010.

Prime Ministership and the Constitution

On February 10, 2014, Sushil Koirala was elected Prime Minister of Nepal by the Constituent Assembly. His tenure was marked by a singular historic achievement: the promulgation of Nepal’s new constitution in September 2015, which transformed the country into a federal democratic republic. This earned him the informal title “Father of the Constitution.” Honoring a pledge to stand down once the new constitution came into effect, he resigned on October 10, 2015.

Legacy and Connection to Biratnagar

Koirala’s roots in Biratnagar connected him to the city’s deep tradition of political activism — Biratnagar was the site of Nepal’s first organized labor movement in 1947. He passed away on February 9, 2016, in Kathmandu. He is remembered as a leader who never sought personal enrichment from politics and remained selflessly committed to democratic values throughout his life.