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The Right Honourable KP Sharma Oli
के.पी. शर्मा ओली
Oli in 2018
38th Prime Minister of Nepal
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 July 2024
President	Ram Chandra Poudel
Deputy	Bishnu Prasad Paudel Prakash Man Singh
Preceded by	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
In office 15 February 2018 – 13 July 2021
President	Bidya Devi Bhandari
Preceded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
Succeeded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
In office 12 October 2015 – 24 August 2016
President	Ram Baran Yadav Bidya Devi Bhandari
Preceded by	Sushil Koirala
Succeeded by	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Leader of the Opposition
In office 27 February 2023 – 4 March 2024
Prime Minister	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Preceded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
Succeeded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
In office 13 July 2021 – 26 December 2022
Prime Minister	Sher Bahadur Deuba
Preceded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
Succeeded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
In office 4 August 2016 – 15 February 2018
Prime Minister	Pushpa Kamal Dahal Sher Bahadur Deuba
Preceded by	Sushil Koirala
Succeeded by	Sher Bahadur Deuba
Ministerial offices Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal In office 2006–2007 Serving with Amik Sherchan Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Preceded by Bharat Mohan Adhikari Succeeded by Bamdev Gautam Minister of Foreign Affairs In office 2006–2007 Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Preceded by Ramesh Nath Pandey Succeeded by Sahana Pradhan Minister of Home Affairs In office 1994–1995 Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikari Preceded by Sher Bahadur Deuba Succeeded by Khum Bahadur Khadka
Senior party positions Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) Incumbent Assumed office 8 March 2021 Preceded by Position established (Party revived as per a Supreme Court verdict)[1] In office 2014–2018 Preceded by Jhala Nath Khanal Succeeded by Position abolished (himself as chairman of the Nepal Communist Party)[2] Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party In office 17 May 2018 – 8 March 2021 Serving with Pushpa Kamal Dahal Preceded by Position established (New party)[2] Succeeded by Position abolished (Party dissolved as per a Supreme Court verdict)[1]
Parliamentary offices Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha Incumbent Assumed office 4 March 2018 Preceded by Keshav Kumar Budhathoki (as member of the Legislature Parliament) Constituency Jhapa–5 In office 1999–2008 Preceded by Chandra Prakash Mainali Succeeded by Gauri Shankar Khadka (as member of the 1st Constituent Assembly) Constituency Jhapa–2 In office 1991–1999 Preceded by Constituency created Succeeded by Gopal Prasad Koirala Constituency Jhapa–6 Member of the Constituent Assembly / Legislature Parliament In office 21 January 2014 – 14 October 2017 Preceded by Bishwodip Lingden Limbu Succeeded by Constituency abolished Constituency Jhapa–7
Personal details
Born	Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (1952-02-22) 22 February 1952 (age 72) Iwa, Nepal
Political party	CPN (UML) (before 2018; 2021–present)
Other political affiliations	NCP (2018–2021)
Spouse	Radhika Shakya
Signature
Website	kpsharmaoli.com.np

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli^[a] (born 22 February 1952)^[3] is the prime minister of Nepal since 15 July 2024.^[4] He previously served as prime minister from 11 October 2015 to 3 August 2016,^[5][6][7] and from 15 February 2018 to 13 July 2021, the first prime minister under the new constitution.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Oli opposed India's 2015 blockade of Nepal.^[12] He strengthened relations with China as an alternative to Nepal's traditionally close trade ties with India and updated the map of Nepal by constitutional amendment to include territories disputed with India, for which he has received some domestic praise and a reputation as a nationalist.^[13][14] Oli's tenure in office has been controversial for frequent use of tongue-in-cheek remarks, hostility towards critics and the media,^[15][16] not stopping other officials' corruption,^[17] failing to deliver economic growth and deviating from promised budgetary expenditures despite a historic majority in the 2017 election. Oli is the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist). ^[18]

K.P. Sharma Oli was born on 22 February 1952 in Atharai panchayat in Tehrathum. His father, Mohan Prasad Oli, was a farmer with limited education. His mother, Madhumaya Oli, died from smallpox when he was four. He had a younger brother and three younger sisters from his father's second marriage. Oli completed his primary level education at the nearby Pranami Middle School.

His family moved to Surungwa, Jhapa in 1958 but following floods in the Kankai river, they were left landless and Oli moved in with grandparents. His family then migrated to Garamani, Jhapa in 1962. He completed his SLC exams in Jhapa in 1970. While in Jhapa, Oli was influenced by the anti-Panchayat and Naxalbari movements. He credits his distant uncle Ramnath Dahal for his communist inclination^[19][20][21]

After he turned eighteen in 1970, Oli became a member of his local chapter of a splinter group of the Communist Party of Nepal. He was arrested in the same year for his involvement in subversive politics. His group later joined the district committee of CPN (Manmohan). After the party split in 1972, he became the organizing secretary of a Coordination Committee for the Jhapa rebellion after former secretary Radha Krishna Mainali contracted tuberculosis. Oli, Mohan Chandra Adhikari and Ram Nath Dahal advocated for organizational expansion and public mobilization arguing that authorities would crack down on them for any violent activities.^[19][20][22]

A majority of the committee favored an armed struggle however and in February 1973 he was removed as secretary and had his membership stripped off by hardliners within the committee led by Chandra Prakash Mainali. The next month, Ramnath Dahal was killed by the Panchayat administration.

Following his removal as secretary, Oli went into hiding in Biratnagar. He then got into contact with Mohan Chandra who was in Kanpur, India at the time. In October 1973 upon his return to Nepal, he was arrested in Rautahat and was imprisoned until 1987.^[23] He was first kept in Gaur prison but was moved around before being sent to the Central Jail in Golghar. There he was kept in solitary confinement for four years.^[19]

Oli was made a central committee member of the Madan Bhandari-led CPN (Marxist–Leninist) while in jail and after his release in 1987 became involved in party activities. He was appointed the Lumbini Zonal chief for the United Left Front in 1989.^[20][22][24]

After CPN (Marxist–Leninist) merged with CPN (Marxist) to form the CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) in 1991, Oli became a founding central committee member of the new party. Later that year he became the founding chairman of the Democratic National Youth Federation. In 1992, he was elected as a standing committee member of the party and was appointed as the chief of the party's publicity department.^[20][24]

In the 1991 election, Oli was elected from Jhapa 6. Oli supported party general secretary Madan Bhandari's proposal of People's Multiparty Democracy as the party line in the fifth party congress in 1993. After Bhandari's death on 16 May 1993, a commission to conduct an investigation was made by prime minster Girija Prasad Koirala under the leadership of former supreme court justice Prachanda Raj Anil. The UML labeled the party as pro-Congress and formed their own commission headed by Oli. The report by Oli claimed that the crash was an assasination, while the government commission claimed that the incident was an accident.^[25][26]

He was reelected in the 1994 election from Jhapa 6 and became Home Minister in the minority government of Man Mohan Adhikari.^[22] Oli was a coordinator of the party's Mahakali treaty study team and played a key role in the treaty's endorsement in the parliament. He supported general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal at the party's sixth national congress which was boycotted by members led by deputy general secretary Bam Dev Gautam. The boycotting members were suspended by the party and they broke off and reconstituted the CPN (Marxist–Leninist) citing their opposition to the treaty and their unfair treatment within the party.^[22][24] He was reelected again in the 1999 election from Jhapa 2 and Jhapa 6, the latter of which he vacated.

In the party's seventh congress in February 2003, Oli put forth a proposal to democratize the party structure and proposed a structure with a chairman and a general secretary. After he was outnumbered in the congress, he withdrew his proposal.^[24][27] Following the royal coup by King Gyanendra in 2005, he was put under house arrest.^[28] Following the 2006 revolution, Oli was appointed as deputy prime minister and the foreign minister in Girija Prasad Koirala's internim cabinet.^[29] He was also made the chair of the cabinet committee in 2006 made to implement the report prepared by the High Level Probe Commission to investigate abuses of state power and funds since the royal coup.^[30]

Oli lost in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election in Jhapa 7. At the party's eight general convention in 2009, his previous proposal for organizational changes was accepted. He was also reelected to the central committee by the congress but lost his bid for party chair to Jhala Nath Khanal.^[24][31]

In the 2013 Constituent Assembly election, Oli was elected from Jhapa 7. He also became the parliamentary party leader, defeating Khanal in the contest.^[32] Oli again challenged for the party leadership at the ninth general convention in July 2015. He defeated former general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and was elected as party chair.^[33][24][34]

Oli was elected Prime Minister in a parliamentary vote on 11 October 2015,^[35] receiving 338 votes out of 597 members in the Legislature Parliament. Oli's candidacy was supported by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, and Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum along with 13 other small parties. He was sworn in on 12 October.^[36]

Oli's first stint faced the economic blockade imposed by India after the new constitution of Nepal.^[37] He opposed India, amended the constitution and signed trade and transit treaties with China to counter dependence upon India.^[38]

Following the withdrawal of support by CPN (Maoist Centre) on 13 July 2016 from the existing coalition and a no-confidence motion by the party on 14 July 2016, the CPN (UML)–led government shrank into a minority, pressuring him to resign. However, CPN (UML) discussed the no-confidence motion in the house, so the concerned parties met in parliament for three days. During the process, two other major parties, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, also withdrew their support from the coalition. On the third day, 24 July 2016, after addressing the opposition in parliament, Oli resigned.^[39] The Indian government was accused of conspiring to bring down Oli as he resisted the economic blockade imposed by India; this was denied by the Ministry of External Affairs of India.^[40]

Oli was appointed Prime Minister for a second time on 15 February 2018 after CPN (UML) became the largest party in the House of Representatives following the 2017 legislative elections with support from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), the same party whose withdrawal of support had led to resignation in his first term.^[41] He passed a motion of confidence on 11 March 2018 with 208 of 268 in the 275-member House of Representatives.^[42] The left-wing alliance of the CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) merged to form the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on 17 May 2018, turning Oli's coalition government into a majority with a two-thirds majority in the House.^[43]

In May 2020, the Oli government unveiled new maps of the country including the disputed territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura in response to the inauguration of a road across the Lipulekh pass by India,^[44] which led to a "cartographic war" between the two countries.^[45] A constitutional amendment bill to amend the official map and emblem of the country passed unanimously.^{[46][47][48][49]}

In December 2020, Oli dissolved the House of Representatives for elections on 30 April and 10 May 2021.^[50][51] This was after infighting in the ruling NCP culminated in a faction of the party, led by former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, planning a motion of no-confidence against Oli in the House.^[52] Oli's reluctance in withdrawing a controversial Constitutional Council Act further led to tensions in the ruling party.^[53] On 23 February 2021, a constitutional bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana declared the dissolution unconstitutional, and reinstated the House to meet within 13 days.^[54][55] Oli respected the verdict and convened parliament on 7 March.^[56][57]

On 7 March 2021, the Supreme Court ruled to award the Nepal Communist Party to Rishiram Kattel after he challenged the Election Commission's ruling of providing the name of his party to the NCP formed after the 2018 merger.^[58] The verdict dissolved the ruling party jointly led by Oli and Dahal, reviving the former CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) parties.^[59] This reduced Oli's government back to a coalition, exacerbating political tensions. The CPN (Maoist Centre) recalled its ministers on 13 March 2021 and withdrew its support from the Oli government on 5 May 2021, turning it into a minority government.^[60][61]

On 10 May 2021, Oli failed a vote of confidence with 93 of 232 in the House of Representatives, 43 below the 136 majority.^[62] He became a caretaker prime minister.^[63]

Oli became a minority Prime Minister on 13 May 2021, when no opposition party formed a majority or claimed it in time.^[11][64] Following the dissolution of the House of Representatives at midnight on 22 May 2021, the Oli government turned into an interim government until elections from 12 to 19 November 2021.^[65]

On 12 July 2021, the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court formed to hear the opposition's writs against the dissolution. It declared the dissolution unconstitutional and ordered the appointment of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister within 28 hours.^{[66][67][68][69]}

Following disputes between Oli and Madhav Nepal, Nepal's faction supported Deuba's motion of confidence, defying the party whip. On 18 August, the party was split, with Nepal and Khanal forming the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) with 31 MPs.^[70][71][72]

Oli was re-elected party chair in the 10th general convention of the CPN (UML) in November 2021.^[73][74]

Oli led the party in the 2022 general election against an alliance of the ruling parties including Congress, CPN (MC), CPN (US) and others. CPN (UML) secured the most votes in the party list proportional system and became the second-largest party in the House of Representatives.^[75] After power-sharing talks broke down inside the ruling alliance, Oli and Dahal brokered a deal, backing Dahal's bid as prime minister with support from the UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, People's Socialist Party, Janamat Party, Nagrik Unmukti Party and three independents.^[76] The UML withdrew from the coalition government ahead of the presidential election in March 2023, but joined hands with Dahal again in March 2024.^[77][78]

Following disagreements with the prime minister and other coalition partners about the annual budget and citing the need for a stable government of national consensus, Oli and Nepali Congress' Deuba agreed on 1 July 2024 to form a rotational government with the two party chairs serving equal time as prime minister.^[79][80] CPN (UML) withdrew its support from the Dahal government, and following a failed a motion of confidence for Dahal in the House on 12 July, Oli was appointed prime minister for a fourth stint on 14 July as part of a coalition with the Nepali Congress, and sworn in the following day.^{[81][82][83][84]}

Oli was elected to the Pratinidhi Sabha from Jhapa in 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2017 on a CPN (UML) ticket.^[85] He won from two constituencies^{[clarification needed]} in the 1999 election and gave up his Jhapa–6 seat. He lost the 2008 Constituent assembly election, but won in 2013. Since the new constitution, he won two elections from Jhapa–5, one in 2017 and the other in 2022.

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Result
1991	House of Representatives	Jhapa 6		CPN (UML)	21,049	Y Elected
1994	House of Representatives	Jhapa 6		CPN (UML)	18,861	Y Elected
1999	House of Representatives	Jhapa 2		CPN (UML)	18,909	Y Elected
		Jhapa 6			23,749	Y Vacated
2008	Constituent Assembly	Jhapa 7		CPN (UML)	14,959	N Lost
2013	Constituent Assembly	Jhapa 7		CPN (UML)	19,287	Y Elected
2017	House of Representatives	Jhapa 5		CPN (UML)	57,139	Y Elected
2022	House of Representatives	Jhapa 5		CPN (UML)	52,319	Y Elected

Oli is married to Radhika Shakya. He met his wife, a fellow communist, after he was released from prison. They met during party activities.^[86]

Oli underwent kidney transplantation twice. The 2007 transplant was in Apollo Hospital, New Delhi.^[87] The 2020 transplant was in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu. It was a kidney from 32-year-old Samikshya Sangraula, who is reportedly Oli's niece by relation^[clarify]. A senior transplant surgeon from New Delhi, who had done the 2007 transplantation, was also present to assist the procedure in Kathmandu.^[88]

Oli is known for his tongue-in-cheek remarks and use of slang and various proverbs, often with double meanings and criticism, some directed to his own party.^[89][19] Oli claims he learnt this technique during the Panchayat era when he was underground to entertain his colleagues.^[19] Sometimes he is alleged to be a "Comedian in Politics". Some of his controversial claims are:

• Supercomputer, February 2019: Oli claimed that the world is amazed by the supercomputer being built by Nepal. He was referring to a computer that was being built in the Banepa IT Park, which the makers have claimed to be a supercomputer in spite of its lacking computing power.^[90]
• Rhino and Mount Everest, August 2019: Oli claimed the English word rhinoceros should be replaced by the Nepali word for the animal, Gainda (Nepali: गैँडा, romanized: Gaim̐ḍā), and Mount Everest should be known as Sagarmatha (Nepali: सगरमाथा, romanized: Sagarmāthā) by everyone.^[91] He said, "...Do you know what [a] gaida [is]? You people know [a] gaida as [a] rhino. But rhinos are not rhinos, they are gaida. I request you to remember this word—gaida...".^[92]
• Indian coronavirus, May 2020: During the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, Oli had lashed out at India, saying that the "Indian virus" was more dangerous than the "Chinese or Italian virus" and even made light of the Indian national emblem.^[93] He said this during an address to the parliament where he blamed the rising number of coronavirus cases on individuals violating the nationwide lockdown, especially those sneaking into Nepal from India, claiming that "people coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country."^[94] This sparked a round of media attention in India.^[95][96]
• Sneeze out the virus, June 2020: While addressing the National Assembly, Oli claimed, "...Corona is like the flu, if contracted, one should sneeze, drink hot water and drive the virus away..." generating ridicule in the national media and social networks. He also claimed ginger, garlic and turmeric are known to have vitamins and antioxidants that can help boost the immune system to fight coronavirus.^[97]
• Lord Rama is a Nepali, July 2020: While addressing a function celebrating the 207th birth anniversary of poet Bhanubhakta Acharya, Oli said Lord Rama was born in Nepal and India had created a fake Ayodhya.^{[98][99][100]} He claimed Thori, a place near Birgunj in southern Nepal, to be the birthplace of Rama and it was impossible for Rama to reach Janakpur in eastern Nepal to marry Sita from Ayodhya in India. He later launched an investigation into this matter, asking officials in the region to research the whereabouts of Ayodhyapuri.^[20] He also claimed to have found strong evidences of the real Ayodhya, supposedly including the ruins of Someshwar Gadhi and Valmiki Ashram, both of whom are associated with Lord Rama.^[20]
• Yoga originated in Nepal, June 2021: On the occasion of International Day of Yoga on 21 June 2021, Oli claimed that yoga originated in Uttarakhand and Nepal in particular.^[101] According to him, India as a country did not exist at the time when yogic science was founded.^{[102][103][104]} This caused backlash from Nepali and Indian social media.^[105]

• Selected speeches of K P Sharma Oli. Kathmandu: Central Office, Communist Party of Nepal – UML. 2016.

• Official website of CPN UML