General Purna Chandra Thapa ( ne, पूर्णचन्द्र थापा; born 9 September 1960) was the Chief of Army Staff in the

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 land service branch ...

until 2021. He served as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the

United Nations Disengagement Observer Force The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The mission was established by United ...

from 19 January 2015 until 7 February 2016. Thapa's tenure as COAS of

Nepal 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 land service branc ...

was characterised by many important structural changes. Thapa vowed to get rid of corruption, nepotism and other unlawful activities in the army. Due to corruption allegations against former Chief

Rajendra Chhetri General Rajendra Chhetri ( ne, राजेन्द्र क्षत्री; IAST:rājendra kṣatrī) born 15 November 1960) is a Nepali military officer and former Chief of Army Staff of the Nepalese Army, He was conferred Honorary Genera ...

, Thapa even went ahead and made all his property details public in order to demonstrate his anti-corruption stance. Thapa also promised to provide equal opportunities to everyone serving in the army, and has been an advocate for digitalisation of

. With his retirement on September 08, 2021; here with comes to a legacy of 18th Generation of Continuous Service by General Purna Chandra Thapa's family.

Biography

He was educated at the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

in India and

Tribhuvan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ne, त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest university in Nepal. In terms of enrollment, it is ...

in Nepal and holds a Master of Philosophy degree. In addition, he pursued additional studies at the Army Command and Staff College of Nepal. He was promoted to the rank of Lt General on 4 October 2015. Thapa has held various high-level positions in the Nepalese Army and has worked with the Nepalese contingent to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. In a

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

document dated 13 April 2006, Colonel Purna Chandra Thapa is mentioned as "Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations". As a brigadier general, he served as Director of Welfare Planning. Thapa was the Adjutant General, before being appointed commander of the Valley Division in 2012. Prior to his United Nations appointment on 19 January 2015 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Lt General Thapa served as the Master General of Ordinance with the Nepalese Army. On 9 September 2018, he assumed the office of Chief of Army Staff of

References

Nepalese officials of the United Nations Nepalese generals University of Madras alumni Tribhuvan University alumni People from Lamjung District Living people 1960 births {{UN-bio-stub