[2] He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister along with the charges of important ministries like Foreign Affairs and Defence in the cabinet of Man Mohan Adhikari.

[7][8] He graduated in commerce from Tribhuvan University in 1973 and worked in banking and civil service before turning to full-time politics.

Following the palace massacre he called for Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to step down, though later joined forces with him to launch a campaign against King Gyanendra's assumption of executive powers.

[citation needed] On 12 April 2008, Nepal resigned as General Secretary of the CPN (UML),[9] after having lost the Kathmandu 2 seat to Maoist candidate Jhakku Prasad Subedi in the 2008 Constituent Assembly election.

[15] He became the 34th Prime Minister of Nepal on 25 May 2009 after his predecessor Prachanda resigned over a conflict with the president over the dismissal of the army's chief of staff.

He faced Ajay Kumar Gupta of CPN(UML) who previously lost as mayor of Gaur Municipality in the 2022 Nepalese local elections.