Baburam Bhattarai (Nepali: बाबुराम भट्टराई, pronounced [ˈbaburam ˈbʱʌʈːʌrai̯]; born 18 June 1954), also known by his nom de guerre Laaldhwoj, is a Nepalese politician, architect and former Prime Minister who presently serves as leader of the Nepal Socialist Party.

[5] In 1996, the Maoists started the Nepalese Civil War, which had a huge impact on the political system in Nepal.

The decade-long civil war, in which more than 17,000 Nepalese died, had a major role in the transformation of Nepal from a monarchy into a republic.

As a way out of the political deadlock since the dissolution of the first Nepalese Constituent Assembly in May 2012, he was replaced by Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi as head of an interim government that was to hold elections by 21 June 2013.

On 4 February 1996, Bhattarai gave the government, led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, from the Nepali Congress, a list of 40 demands, threatening civil war if those were not met.

The demands related to "nationalism, democracy, and livelihood" and included an end to the "domination of foreign capital in Nepali industries, business and finance", abrogation of "discriminatory treaties, including the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty", and confiscation and distribution of "land under the control of the feudal system to the landless and the homeless".

After that, and until 26 April 2006, the guerrilla leader Prachanda directed the military efforts of the CPN (M) towards establishing areas of control, particularly in the mountainous regions and western Nepal.

Among other points, this document stated that a dictatorial monarchy of King Gyanendra is the chief impediment to progress in Nepal.

It claimed further that the Maoists are committed to human rights and press freedoms and a multi-party system of government.

The move followed weeks of massive protests—the April 2006 Nepalese general strike— in Kathmandu and elsewhere that had forced King Gyanendra to give up the personal dictatorship he had established on 1 February 2005 and restore the parliament that was dissolved in May 2002.

The Parliament and the new government supported the ceasefire and started negotiations with the Maoists on the basis of the twelve-point agreement.

The two sides agreed that a new constituent assembly will be elected to write a new constitution, and decide the fate of the monarchy.

His books and articles have had some impact on Nepalis both at home and abroad, though primarily only on those who share his political beliefs.