Nepal Abolishes the Monarchy
The monarchy's authority had been eroding since the 1990 restoration of multiparty politics, but two events destroyed it. In June 2001 Crown Prince Dipendra shot dead King Birendra and most of the royal family before killing himself, bringing the far less popular Gyanendra to the throne. In 2005 Gyanendra dismissed the government and assumed direct rule, which united the parliamentary parties with the Maoist insurgents they had been fighting since 1996. The resulting mass protests of April 2006 forced the king to restore parliament, after which a comprehensive peace agreement brought the Maoists into government. Elections in April 2008 made them the largest party in a constituent assembly, which voted at its first sitting to abolish the monarchy; Gyanendra left the palace without resistance. Writing the promised constitution proved far harder than removing the king, taking seven more years and a devastating earthquake before promulgation in 2015.
- Year: 2008 CE
- Category: Political
