Bidhya Devi Bhandari
| Bidhya Devi Bhandari विद्या देवी भण्डारी |
|
|---|---|
 |
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| 2nd President of Nepal | |
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Assumed office 29 October 2015 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Khadga Prasad Oli Pushpa Kamal Dahal |
| Vice President | Nanda Kishor Pun |
| Preceded by | Ram Baran Yadav |
| Minister of Defence | |
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In office 25 May 2009 – 6 February 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | Madhav Kumar Nepal |
| Preceded by | Ram Bahadur Thapa |
| Succeeded by | Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
19 June 1961 Mane Bhanjyang, Bhojpur, Nepal |
| Political party |
Communist Party of Nepal (UML) (Before 2015) Independent (2015–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Madan Bhandari (1951–1993) |
| Children | 2 |
| Religion | Hinduism |
'Bidhya Devi Bhandari' (Nepali: विद्या देवी भण्डारी; born 19 June 1961) is the second and current President of Nepal, elected in 2015. She is the first woman to hold the office. She was the vice-chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and chair of the All Nepal Women Association before winning the presidential election on 28 October 2015. She was elected as President in a parliamentary vote, receiving 327 votes out of 549 and defeating Kul Bahadur Gurung. In 2016, Forbes placed her 52 in their list of the world's 100 most powerful women. She previously served as the Minister of Defence of the government of Nepal and was the first woman in Nepal to hold that post. She was also the minister for Environment and population in 1990s.
Bidhya Devi Bhandari was born on 19 June 1961, in Mane Bhanjyang of Bhojpur, to Ram Bahadur Pandey and Mithila Pandey. She joined student politics at an early age.
Bhandari was elected twice in parliamentary elections in 1994 and 1999, defeating Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Damanath Dhungana, respectively. However, she lost during the 2008 Constituent Assembly poll. She held the post of Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. The party elected her under the proportional electoral system in the second Constituent Assembly elections in 2013.
Bhandari was active in politics from an early age. According to the details provided by the CPN-UML, Bhandari joined politics as an activist of the Youth League of CPN(ML) in 1978, from Bhojpur. She played a role as an In-charge for Eastern Zone Committee of ANNFSU from 1979 to 1987. Her active political journey, however, started when she received party membership from the CPN (ML) in 1980. After completing her school level study, Bhandari was enrolled in Mahendra Morang Adarsha Multiple Campus where she was elected as a Treasurer for Federation of Students' Union (FSU). Also, she played a pivotal role as a chairperson of the women's wing of GEFONT from 1993 before being elected as UML central committee member in 1997. Her influence in the party remained dominant when she was elected as vice-chairperson of the party in its eighth general convention held in Butwal. Bhandari, who retained her vice-chairperson position in the party's general convention, was considered as one of the confident leaders of party chairman and Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli.
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