Rishikesh Shah (May 16, 1925 – November 13, 2002) was a

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

ese writer, politician and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

activist.Rishikesh Shah, 77 - Nepali Times

Career

Political

Shah was a member of the Nepal Prajatantrik Party from 1948 to 1949. Between 1951 and 1953, he was the general secretary of the

Nepali Rastriya Congress Nepali National Congress () was a political party in Nepal. It was formed by B. P. Koirala, Matrika Prasad Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi and others. It merged with the Nepal Democratic Congress led b ...

. He then became general secretary of the joint

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 ...

-Nepali Rashtriya Congress front until 1956. Shah was

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1960 to 1962. In 1962 he became chair of the Constitution Drafting Commission. Between 1967 and 1971 he represented the graduate constituency in the National

Panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

. In the Panchayat, he was one of the most prominent advocates of democratic reforms.

Diplomatic

Shah was the Nepalese ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the first

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

of Nepal to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

between 1956 and 1960. In 1961 Shah was elected by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

to chair the International Commission to investigate the death of UN Secretary General

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld ( , ; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 196 ...

, who had suffered an air crash over Congo. Shah was one of the candidates to succeed Hammarskjöld, but was defeated by

U Thant Thant (; ; January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position. He held t ...

. In 1962, Shah was appointed special ambassador.

Academic

Shah lectured in English and Nepali at

Tri-Chandra College Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, more colloquially known as Tri-Chandra College, is a constituent campus of Tribhuvan University located in Ghantaghar, Kathmandu. Found in 1918 by Chandra Shumsher, it is the oldest institute of higher learning in Ne ...

1945-1948. During the period 1947-1948 he served as Chief Inspector of Schools. Shah served as visiting professor at the School of International Studies,

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

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 ...

in 1970. In 1971 he served as Regents' Professor at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, USA. He was a Fellow at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washi ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and the

East-West Center East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. Shah authored several works about Nepalese politics and history.

Organizational

Shah was also the founder of the Nepal Council of World Affairs and in 1988 he became the founding president of the

Human Rights Organisation of Nepal Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

(HURON). Later, he left HURON.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaha, Rishikesh 1925 births 2002 deaths Nepali Congress politicians from Karnali Province Finance ministers of Nepal Government ministers of Nepal Ambassadors of Nepal to the United States Permanent Representatives of Nepal to the United Nations Nepalese human rights activists