Veteran communist politician K.P. Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister on Monday, the fifth in five years, hoping to ensure political stability in the impoverished Himalayan nation that badly needs to woo investors and create jobs.
Nepal has been politically unstable since it abolished a 239-year-old monarchy in 2008. Oli’s new government will be the 14th since, with 72-year-old Oli himself returning for his fourth term. Oli, who heads the moderate Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), was administered the oath of office by President Ramchandra Paudel, three days after his predecessor Pushpa Kamal Dahal lost a parliamentary vote of confidence. Oli announced a 22-member cabinet, with Bishnu Paudel picked as finance minister, and Arzu Rana Deuba of alliance partner Nepali Congress (NC) named foreign minister. Deuba is the wife of NC president and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
