Field Marshal Sir Kaiser Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, GBE (8 January 1892 – 7 June 1964) was a field marshal in the Royal Nepalese Army. He was the third son of

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Field-Marshal Maharaja Sri Teen Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (8 July 1863 – 26 November 1929) was the Prime Minister of Nepal from the Rana dynasty. He served in this capacity from 27 June 1901 to his death in 1929, after he successfull ...

, GCB,

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI) # ...

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

the fifth

Prime Minister of Nepal The Prime Minister of Nepal ( ne, नेपालको प्रधानमन्त्री) is the head of government of Nepal. The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers of Nepal and the chief adviser to the President of ...

of the

Rana dynasty Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and othe ...

and Bada Maharani Chandra Loka Bhaktha Rajya Lakshmi.

Early life

He was the younger brother of Shree Tin Maharaja

Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Field-Marshal Shree Shree Shree Maharaja Sir Mohan Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana ( ne, मोहन शम्शेर जङ्गबहादुर राणा), GCB, GCIE, GBE (23 December 1885 – 6 January 1967) was the prime minister ...

and Sir

Baber Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Sir Baber Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, GCVO, GBE, KCSI, KCIE (27 January 1888 – 12 May 1960) was a member of the Rana dynasty who served as the Minister of Defence of Nepal in 1951. A prominent member of the Rana oligarchy, he fought valiant ...

. From 1909 for some years he had

Basanta Kumar Mallik Basanta Kumar Mallik (1879–1958) was a Bengali tutor, author and philosopher. He spent two extended periods in England, and is known for his influence in the 1920s on the poet Robert Graves. Mallik used as his family name derives from an honorifi ...

Family

Kaiser Shamsher married twice and had five sons and five daughters. On 20 April 1904 he married his first wife at the

Narayanhity Royal Palace The Narayanhiti Palace Museum (Nepali language, Nepali: नारायणहिटी दरवार) is a public museum in Kathmandu, Nepal located east of the Kaiser Mahal and next to Thamel. The museum was created in 2008 from the complex o ...

in Kathmandu, Princess Lakshmi Rajya Laxmi Devi of Nepal (1895–1954), the then heir apparent and eldest daughter of King

Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज पृथ्वी वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (18 August 1875 – 11 December 1911) was King of Nepal from 1881 until 1911. Among the mo ...

of Nepal. In 1943 at

Kaiser Mahal Kaiser Mahal is a Rana palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex, located west of the Narayanhity Palace, was incorporated in an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. History The palace complex ...

in Kathmandu, Kaiser Shamsher married Krishna Chandra Kumari Devi, daughter of Mukunda Bahadur Singh, of

Bajura Bajura District ( ne, बाजुरा जिल्ला ), a part of Sudurpashchim Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Martadi (today part of Badimalika municipality) as its district headquarter ...

Later life

During his lifetime Kaiser Shamsher occupied various posts and had many responsibilities both in the civil and the military administration. In 1901 he was appointed major general. In 1920 Kaiser Shamsher became a lieutenant general. In 1922–1930 he served as the chairman of the Kathmandu municipality. Later he was the Southern commanding general (1934–1945) and Eastern commanding general (1945–1947). Kaiser Shamsher worked as director general of various institutions, such as the Royal Museum (1928–1939), the Archaeology Department (1931–1939), and the Foreign Affairs Department (1932–1937). As a foreign minister of Nepal, he attended the ceremony of Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on 12 May 1937 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

in London. In 1947–48 Kaiser Shamsher was appointed as Nepal's ambassador to the Court of St. James. In 1951–53 he was commander-in-chief. He also served as minister of Defence (1951–1955) and minister of finance and administration (1952–53). In 1956 Kaiser Shamsher was promoted to field marshal. Kaiser Shamsher died on 7 June 1964 at the age of 72.

Wealth

Kaiser Shumsher owned

Kaiser Castle ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

a
Banaras Cantt
in Banaras,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The building was given out (free of rent) to the Zoological Survey of India from 1942 to 1949. A species of crustacean Nichollsia kashiense is found to have been discovered in the castle area.

Kaiser Library

Kaiser Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana was an avid book collector, and his personal library at the Kaiser Mahal is now open to the public. The Kaiser Library is situated in the

Keshar Mahal Kaiser Mahal is a Rana palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex, located west of the Narayanhity Palace, was incorporated in an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. History The palace complex ...

near the Western Gate of the

. The library, unique for its architecture, houses more than sixty thousand books, documents, periodicals and manuscripts. and is one of the oldest libraries in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. From a very young age Kaiser Shamsher bought and collected books and newspapers, and visited

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with his father. He was very much impressed by the government of England, as well as by the library system and the proper management of books there. Book collection was his hobby and his visit to Britain & British libraries led to the increase in the number of his books and change in the structure of his own library. From England, he brought back with him many books to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. Access to the library was limited to the members of his family, special people of the nation and special visitors from abroad. In his will he bequeathed his library to the government, thereby making it a national property accessible to all. It was established in 1969 A.D. with the donated personal collection by his widow Krishna Chandra Kumari Devi.Klib
/ref>

Honours

National honours

* Member of the

Order of Ojaswi Rajanya The Most Glorious Order of Ojaswi Rajanya ( ne, Ojaswi Rajanyako Manapadvi) was an order of knighthood of Nepal. It was given to foreign heads of state, foreign or Nepalese monarchs. History The order was instituted on 14 May 1934 by King Trib ...

, 1st Class. * Member of the Order of Om Rama Pata, 1st Class. * Member of the Order of the Three Divine Powers, 1st. Class. * Member of the Order of Gurkha Right Hand, 1st. Class. * Great Earthquake Medal (1935). * Royal Jubilee Medal (11 December 1936). * Long Service Medal. * King Mahendra Coronation Medal (2 May 1956).

Foreign honours

* : Delhi Durbar Medal (12 December 1911). * :

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to t ...

(1937). * : Honorary Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(KBE – 17 January 1924). * : Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the

(GBE – 29 April 1937). * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour (24 May 1934).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Members of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta, First Class Members of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, First Class Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Finance ministers of Nepal Nepalese military personnel 1892 births 1964 deaths Nepalese royalty Ambassadors of Nepal to the United Kingdom Rana regime 20th-century Nepalese nobility 19th-century Nepalese nobility Children of prime ministers of Nepal Nepalese Hindus