Ram Baran Yadav ( mai, डा. राम वरण यादव) is a

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

politician and physician who served as the first president of Nepal from 23 July 2008 to 29 October 2015, following the declaration of a republic in 2008. Previously he served as Minister of Health from 1999 to 2001 and general secretary of the

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party of ...

Political life

Yadav served as Minister of State for Health from 1991 to 1994. He was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in the 1999 election as a candidate of the Nepali Congress, becoming the Minister of Health in the subsequent government. In May 2007, Yadav's residence in Janakpur was attacked by militants of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM). The JTMM put up a seizure notice at the house, hoisted their flags at it and detonated a bomb. Yadav contested the Dhanusa-5 constituency in the April 2008 Constituent Assembly election and won the seat, obtaining 10,392 votes. Yadav was elected as the first President of Nepal in a second round of voting on 21 July 2008. He received 308 out of the 590 votes cast in the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected ...

, defeating Ram Raja Prasad Singh, who had been nominated by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), in a second round of voting. Yadav was sworn in as president on 23 July 2008. Chief Justice of Nepal Kedar Prasad Giri administered the oath of office and secrecy to Yadav at Shital Niwas, Rastrapati Bhawan. Yadav also administered oath to Vice-president Parmananda Jha.

Personal life

Yadav began his political career while studying medicine in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

, India. He came in contact with several

Nepali politicians The politics of Nepal functions within the framework of a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and their cabinet, while legislative power is vested in the Parliament. The Gove ...

who had self-exiled themselves in

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 ...

, such as

B. P. Koirala Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala ( ne, विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला; 8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982), (Nepali: 1971 B.S. Bhadra 24 - 2039 B.S Shrawan 6)better known as B. P. Koirala ( ne, बीपी ...

Ganesh Man Singh Ganesh Man Singh (Nepali:गणेशमान सिंह) (November 9, 1915 – September 18, 1997) was the leader of the democratic movement of 1990 in Nepal. He is revered as the Father of Democracy and the Iron-man of Nepali politics ...

, Subarna Shamsher Rana, Pushpa Lal Shrestha, and Saroj Koirala. Inspired by these leaders, Yadav started engaging himself in politics actively. He championed the cause for multi-party democracy during the referendum held in 1980. While practicing as a physician for several years in Janakpur. He engaged himself in politics as an active cadre of the

Party. He was a rural private practitioner for several years as well as a personal physician to Koirala, the first elected Prime Minister of Nepal, from 1980 to 1982. Yadav was imprisoned for some time until restoration of multiparty democratic dispensation in Nepal in 1990. Thereafter, he was elected twice as a Member of the House of Representatives from the Constituency No. 5 of Dhanusa district of Nepal. He was the Minister of State for Health from 1991 to 1994. He again took charge of the Ministry of Health as the Cabinet Minister from 1999 to 2001. Yadav was elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly from the same constituency of Dhanusa District during the elections held on 10 April 2008. Yadav discharged various responsibilities in the Nepali Congress Party. He was a member of the Central Working Committee for 15 years, and also a member of Parliamentary Board, and a member of the Discipline Committee of the Party. Before being elected as president, he was General Secretary of the

Party.

Nepali President Ram Baran Yadav visiting a temple as head of the state

Foreign visits

He visited India in 2010 and went to Tirupati Balaji and Chandigarh, where he had received his medical degree. On March 26, 2015, he departed for an official visit to China at the invitation of the Chinese government.

Honours

Ram Baran has received several accolades and honours:

Foreign Honours

*: Recipient of the

Bangladesh Liberation War Honour Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Liberation War were decorations which were bestowed by the major warring parties during the years of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan all issued awards and decorations during ...

''(Bangladesh Muktijuddho Sanmanona)''

References