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Nepal\u2019s former Chief Justice Sushila Karki has been appointed as the country\u2019s new interim prime minister, following days of deadly youth protests.<\/p>\n
Karki\u2019s appointment was announced by the office of President Ramchandra Poudel on Friday, September 12, and she was sworn into office as the country\u2019s first-ever female prime minister later that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not come to this position because I had sought it, but because there were voices from the streets demanding that Sushila Karki should be given the responsibility,\u201d she said during her first public remarks on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Here is what we know about Karki.<\/p>\n
Following the youth-led \u201cGen Z\u201d protests against corruption in Nepal, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned last Tuesday. Karki was appointed on Friday to lead the transitional government until snap elections in March 2026.<\/p>\n
Karki, 73, is the first woman to head the government of Nepal.<\/p>\n
She was born in June 1952 in what is now Nepal\u2019s eastern city of Biratnagar, about 400km (250 miles) south of Kathmandu, the capital. Karki reportedly attended the Mahendra Morang College in Biratnagar and earned her Bachelor of Arts at age 20. Later, she attended graduate school in India, earning her Master\u2019s degree from Banaras Hindu University before returning to Nepal.<\/p>\n
Karki completed her law degree at Tribhuvan University in 1978, according to The Kathmandu Post, and went on to become a lawyer and teach law at Mahendra Multiple Campus in Nepal\u2019s eastern city of Dharan.<\/p>\n
Karki became the first female chief justice of Nepal in 2016.<\/p>\n
In May 2017, the government tried to suspend her<\/span> as members of parliament signed an impeachment motion against her after the court, under her leadership, overturned their appointment of Jaya Bahadur Chand as police chief. The court chose the highest-ranking officer, Nawaraj Silwal, for the position instead.<\/p>\n The United Nations labelled the impeachment effort, which was eventually dropped, as \u201cpolitically motivated\u201d, and Karki retired in June 2017.<\/p>\n Young people in Kathmandu and other cities took to the streets on September 8 to protest political corruption. There was also anger towards children of Nepali government officials \u2013 dubbed \u201cNepo kids\u201d<\/span> \u2013 who document their lavish lifestyles online.<\/p>\n Days before the protests, the Nepali government had banned more than 20 social media websites in the country for not complying with the government\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n On the first day of protests, some demonstrators broke past police barriers and entered the parliament complex. A violent crackdown by security forces led dozens dead, inflaming tensions further.<\/p>\n The next day, protesters defied curfews to set fire to government buildings, including parliament, and freed thousands of prisoners. Nepali ministers were evacuated by helicopter to ensure their safety.<\/p>\n Many protesters were killed amid clashes with the police. On September 12, a police spokesman said the death toll from the protests had climbed to 51.<\/p>\n In response, Oli, who was elected as PM for the fourth time last year, announced his resignation last Tuesday, September 9. Other ministers also resigned<\/span> from their posts.<\/p>\n Nepal\u2019s army was deployed late on September 9 in an attempt to restore order. The situation has started to calm down, with schools reopening and businesses resuming operations.<\/p>\n Hami Nepal, the group that organised the protests, held a call on the messaging application, Discord<\/span>, late last week to choose Nepal\u2019s interim prime minister. About 10,000 Nepalis \u2013 including many from the diaspora \u2013 participated.<\/p>\n After hours of debate, they chose Karki.<\/p>\n Paudel announced Karki\u2019s appointment on September 12. He also announced that the 275-seat parliament had been dissolved, and elections were then set for March 5, 2026<\/span>, about two years earlier than planned.<\/p>\n While the young protesters highlighted the generation gap between them and Nepal\u2019s leaders during their agitation, they ended up picking septuagenarian Karki as their interim leader.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been a concern from people here as well,\u201d Anish Ghimre, a Nepali journalist with the Kathmandu Post, told Al Jazeera, referring to Karki\u2019s age. \u201cBut I think the bigger picture here is people wanted someone they could trust, someone they can look up to.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghimre, 24, said the decision was motivated by the young protesters researching Karki\u2019s background and career. He pointed out how Karki has previously said during interviews that \u201cmany ministers came to her and they asked for some favour\u201d but that she had refused to comply with their demands.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, after six months, maybe we can see a new face, maybe someone younger,\u201d he added, referring to the March election.<\/p>\n Others also pointed to the selection of Karki being based on her reputation, despite her age.<\/p>\n \u201cGen Z protesters rallied behind septuagenarian Sushila Karki because, even in her earlier statements to the press, her image as Nepal\u2019s first woman chief justice symbolised integrity and resistance against corruption,\u201d Yog Raj Lamichhane, an assistant professor at the School of Business in Nepal\u2019s Pokhara University, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,\u201d Karki said<\/span> on Sunday.<\/p>\n She acknowledged the youth\u2019s demands for the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and pledge to hand over to the next parliament and ministers.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, she named three new government ministers: Om Prakash Aryal as home minister, Rameshwar Prasad Khanal as finance minister and Kulman Ghising as energy minister.<\/p>\n With the parliament dissolved, Karki is likely to face challenges in passing any new legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough the government has changed and parliament dissolved, no concrete programme against corruption has been introduced, underscoring the concerns of the Gen Z movement,\u201d Lamichhane said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe interim government must ensure timely elections and also address the challenge of reconstruction.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhat happened in Nepal?<\/h2>\n
Why Karki?<\/h2>\n
What has PM Karki done so far?<\/h2>\n
What\u2019s next for Nepal?<\/h2>\n