Advertisement

Nepal's 5-time prime minister cremated with state honors

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Former five-time Nepalese Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa was cremated with state honors Friday near a revered Hindu temple after his death earlier this week.

Thousands of people paid their last respects to Thapa at the national stadium. His body was then taken on an open truck to Pashupatinath temple to be cremated.

Thapa, 87, died Wednesday in a hospital in India where he had been treated for stomach cancer.

He served as Nepal's prime minister three times before 1990 when kings ruled the Himalayan state with a rubber-stamp parliament and a ban on political parties.

After a multiparty democracy was established in 1990, he formed the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and held the post of prime minister twice. He stepped down in 2005.

He was the oldest member of Nepal's 601-member Constituent Assembly, which is currently drafting a constitution.

Thapa is survived by a son and three daughters. His son, Sunil Bahadur Thapa, is Nepal's commerce and supply minister. His wife died some years ago.

Advertisement
Comment