Question

Who among the following was the last king of Nepal?
A.King Birendra
B.King Raj Bahadur
C.King Vir Pratap
D.King Gyanendra

Answer 1

Hint:The king belonged to the Shah dynasty. Originally he was not the crown prince since he was the second son of King Mahendra. He succeeded the throne after the assasination of the preceding king. He is also an entrepreneur.

Complete answer:
On first June, Prince Dipendra who was the next crown prince of the dynasty, over a dinner party assassinated his father King Birendra. Along with the assination of his father, he also murdered eight more members of the royal family, which included his mother, sister, brother, his other uncle and his family and many more. It was a massacre. After killing all the members he commited suicide by shooting himself as well. Fortunately Gyanendra was not in attendance at the dinner party so he survived. After the bloodbath, Dipendra was crowned as the King of Nepal even though he was still comatose from the suicide attempt. King Dipendra died three days later and King Birendra’s younger brother Gyanendra was crowned as the king of Nepal just four days after the massacre.

In two thousand two, in October, the Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba was dismissed by King Gyanendra. He again appointed Deuba because he faced widespread anger of the masses after he dismissed him earlier. But he reappointed Deuba only to again dismiss him for the second time in February in two thousand five. According to Gyanendra he dismissed the Prime Minister because his government and party failed to prevent the Maoist insurgency and had also failed to arrange for the new parliamentary elections. In return, the Maoists had promised a massacre if elections were to take place.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: King Gyanendra is the chairperson of King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conversation. He is also an owner of a hotel, plantation and a cigarette factory. Monarchy was abolished in two thousand eight after the newly formed government declared Nepal a democratic republic.