Mahendra Bahadur Pandey is a Nepalese politician and diplomat. A politburo member of the

Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) The Communist Party of Nepal (), abbreviated CPN, was a communist party in Nepal from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic Rana regime, feudalism, and imperialism. The founding general secretary ...

, on 25 February 2014 he assumed the post of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal under

Sushil Koirala Sushil Prasad Koirala (; 12 August 1931 – 9 February 2016) was a Nepalese politician and the Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 February 2014 to 10 October 2015. He was also President of the Nepali Congress from 2010 to 2016, having earlier ser ...

-led government. Since April 2020, he is the Ambassador of Nepal to China. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he assumed his post from Kathmandu until September 2020.

Personal life

Pandey was born to father Fatta Bahadur Pandey and mother Bishnu Maya Pandey in Likhu, Nuwakot,

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

in May 1948. He earned his Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.) in English, M.Ed from

Tribhuwan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. It offers 1,000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs across a wide rang ...

of Nepal. He studied Conflict Management from Ulster University, N.Ireland. He holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB) too. He served as the Associate Professor of English in Tribhuvan University for 20 years from 1975 to 1995. He is married to Mrs Bhim Kumari Thapa. They have a daughter, Liberty, and a son, Wisdom.

Political career

Since his student life, he was deeply inspired to fight for the democratic rights of the

Nepalese people Nepali or Nepalese () are the permanent citizens of Nepal under Nepali nationality law. The term ''Nepali'' strictly refers to ''nationality'', meaning people holding citizenship of Nepal. Conversely, people without Nepalese citizenship but wi ...

and for the just and equitable society. That drew him to the leftist movement in 1966. Later on, he joined the

Communist Party of Nepal The Communist Party of Nepal (), abbreviated CPN, was a communist party in Nepal from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic Rana regime, feudalism, and imperialism. The founding general secretary ...

in 1977. He was eventually elected to the House of Representatives for

Nuwakot District Nuwakot District (), a part of Bagmati Province, is one of the List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Bidur as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 288,478 in 2001 and 277 ...

in 1999 and served as the Chief

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

of his party from 2006 to 2007. He also served as the Member Secretary of Social Welfare Council in 1995. Apart from his cabinet responsibility, he holds the post of the Chief of Education and Human Resource Department of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandey, Mahendra Bahadur 1948 births Date of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Nuwakot District Tribhuvan University alumni Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) politicians Government ministers of Nepal Ministers of foreign affairs of Nepal Nepal MPs 1999–2002 Ambassadors of Nepal to China