Bidya Devi Bhandari
Bidya Devi Bhandari (Nepali: विद्यादेवी भण्डारी, pronounced [bid̚djadebi bʱʌɳɖaɾi]; born 19 June 1961) is a Nepali former politician who served as the second president of Nepal from 2015 to 2023. She formerly served as the minister of defence and minister of environment and population.
Bidya Devi Bhandari | |
|---|---|
| विद्यादेवी भण्डारी | |
| 2nd President of Nepal | |
| In office 29 October 2015 – 13 March 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | KP Sharma Oli Sher Bahadur Deuba Pushpa Kamal Dahal |
| Vice President | Parmanand Jha Nanda Kishor Pun |
| Deputy Prime Ministers |
|
| Preceded by | Ram Baran Yadav |
| Succeeded by | Ram Chandra Poudel |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 25 May 2009 – 6 February 2011 | |
| President | Ram Baran Yadav |
| Prime Minister | Madhav Kumar Nepal |
| Preceded by | Ram Bahadur Thapa |
| Succeeded by | Bijay Kumar Gachhadar |
| Minister for Environment and Population | |
| In office 25 March 1997 – 7 October 1997 | |
| Monarch | King Birendra |
| Prime Minister | Lokendra Bahadur Chand |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office November 1994 – April 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Daman Nath Dhungana |
| Succeeded by | Jhakku Prasad Subedi |
| Constituency | Kathmandu–2 |
| In office January 1994 – August 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Madan Bhandari |
| Succeeded by | Man Mohan Adhikari |
| Constituency | Kathmandu–1 |
| Member of the Constituent Assembly / Legislature Parliament | |
| In office 28 May 2008 – 28 October 2015 | |
| Constituency | Party list |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bidya Pandey 19 June 1961 Mane Bhanjyang, Bhojpur, Kingdom of Nepal (present day Mane Bhanjyang, Ramprasadrai Rural Municipality, Bhojpur, Koshi Province, Nepal |
| Political party | Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (until 2015) |
| Spouse |
Madan Bhandari
(m. 1982; died 1993) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Ram Bahadur Pandey (father) Mithila Pandey (mother) |
| Education | Bidhdhodaya Higher Secondary School, Bhojpur |
| Alma mater | Tribhuvan University (BA) |
She was the first woman to hold the office in the country. She served as the vice-chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and was the chair of the All Nepal Women's Association before being elected president. Bhandari previously served as the Minister of Defence, the first woman to hold the office, from 2009 to 2011. She also served as the Minister of Environment and Population in 1997, and has been an active campaigner for environmental awareness and women's rights in Nepal. In June 2017, she visited the headquarters of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland and met with the director general Inger Andersen to discuss enhanced collaboration on nature conservation and sustainable development. In 2016, Forbes placed her as number 52 in their list of the world's 100 most powerful women.