Commander in Chief Kiran Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1916–1983) was a Nepalese army officer. He served as the

Royal Nepalese Army The Nepali Army ( ne, नेपाली सेना, translit=Nēpālī Sēnā), technically the Gorkhali Army ( ne, गोरखाली सेना, translit=Gōrakhālī Sēnā, label=none; see ''Gorkhas''), is the Ground warfare, land ...

's Commander-in-Chief from 1951–1956 and as the Nepalese ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1973–1977. Over the course of thirty years, he served as Aide-de-camp General to

King Tribhuvan Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955) was King of Nepal from 11 December 1911 until his ...

, King Mahendra and

King Birendra Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (28 December 1945 – 1 June 2001) was the tenth Shah Ruler and the King of N ...

Biography

Kiran Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana was born in October 1916 at the Jawalakhel Durbar, son of the Maharajah Juddha Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, Prime Minister of Nepal and his fifth wife, Sahila Maharani.

Career

He joined the Nepali Army in 1933 and during World War II, he commanded ‘the famous’ Mahendra Dal Battalion of the Nepalese Army in 1940, sent in aid of the Allied Forces in the North-West Frontier and the Eastern Active Service Area in India. For his service he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1943 and decorated with the Order of Nepal Tara (2nd Class), then sent as a liaison officer to the Eastern Command and the 14th Army in India. Following the end of World War II, he was a member of the Nepalese contingent at the

London Victory Parade of 1946 The London Victory Celebrations of 1946 were British Commonwealth, Empire and Allied victory celebrations held after the defeat of Nazi Germany and Empire of Japan, Japan in World War II. On 1 November 1945 the Prime Minister appointed a committ ...

and of the first Nepalese Goodwill Mission to the United States. On return of the troops in 1948, he was awarded the Nepal Pratap Vardhak by the government of Nepal, and

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

by the British government. Outside of the military, he served the Nepalese government in other roles between 1946 and 1950, including Director General of Health, Transport and Communications, the Royal Mint, and as Chief Justice for a brief period. During the 1950 insurgency in Nepal, General Kiran lead a peace mission to the eastern parts. In recognition of his services, he was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Nepalese Army and awarded the most refulgent order of Nepal Supradipta Manyabara Nepal Tara (1st Class). He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Nepalese Army the next year. General Kiran then reorganized the Royal Nepalese Army and was awarded with the order of Trishakti-Patta (1st Class). During the reign of

, he was appointed as Aide-de-camp General to the king and decorated with the order of Suprasiddha Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu (1st Class). (He subsequently served as ADC General to the following two kings of Nepal.) In 1954 and 1955, he served on the Coronation Committee of King Mahendra. General Kiran made an official visit to

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

in 1955 at the invitation of Commander-in-Chief, Far Eastern Command (Land Forces) of the British Army and inspected the Gurkha regiments stationed there. The following year, he retired from the Army and was appointed Minister of State for Planning and Development in the cabinet of Prime Minister

Tanka Prashad Acharya is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the ''Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short poem ...

. In 1957, General Kiran was appointed Vice President of the 1st Planning Commission. He took on duties outside of Nepal later in life, appointed to a six-year term as a member of Rajya Sabha in 1963 and later serving as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nepal to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

from 1973 to 1977.

Marriage and children

General Kiran married Yuba Rajya Lakshmi in 1936. The couple had five children: *Teeka Rajya Laxmi Simha (d. 1993) *Prashiddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana *Prabal Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana *Pramode Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana *Subodh Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana

Death and afterward

General Kiran died on November 1983 in Kathmandu, and was cremated with full military honors at Arya Ghat, Pashupatinath.

Honours

Nepalese Decorations

Order of Pratap Vardhak Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(Ne. Va., Outstanding Service Decoration) *

Order of the Star of Nepal The Most Refulgent Order of the Star of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल तारा ''Nepal Taradisha'') is an award of Nepal. History It was instituted by King Tribhubhan Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 19 November 1918. Attached to the order is a medal ( ...

(Nepal Tara), Member 1st Class * Order of Om Rama Patta, Member * Order of Tri Shakti Patta (Three Divine Powers), Member 1st Class * Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu (Gurkha Right Arm), Member 1st Class * Assam-Burma Medal (1945)

Foreign Decorations

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 ...

(KBE) * Commander of Legion of Merit (American Order, 2nd class) * Honorary Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) *

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for distinguished service in 1943 (U.K.) *

1939–1945 Star The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, Battl ...

(1945) * Burma Star (1945). * Defence Medal (1945) *

War Medal A war medal is a military decoration awarded in time of war, as opposed to a service medal. It may refer to, for example: *War Medal (Norway) *Campaign medal *Global War on Terrorism Service Medal *British War Medal, British Empire medal for servi ...

(1945)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Kiran Shamsher Jang Bahadur 1916 births 1983 deaths Ambassadors of Nepal to the United Kingdom Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of the Star of Nepal Members of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta, First Class Members of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, First Class Nepalese generals Children of prime ministers of Nepal Nepalese Hindus