# List of heads of state of Nepal

The following is a list of the heads of state of Nepal, from the unification of the country and the founding of the Kingdom of Nepal in 1768, to the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in 2008.
The King of Nepal was the country's head of state from the unification and the establishment of the kingdom in 1768 to 2008. Since 2008, the head of state has been the President of Nepal after the abolition of monarchy and the establishment of a republic.

## Kingdom of Nepal (1768–2008)

Nepal was ruled by monarchs of the Shah dynasty from 1768 till the abolition of monarchy in 2008. However, from 1846 until the 1951 revolution, the country was de facto ruled by the hereditary prime ministers of the Rana dynasty, reducing the role of the Shah monarch to that of a figurehead. The monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the 1st Constituent Assembly.
| No. | Portrait | King (Birth–Death) | Reign | Reign | Reign | House | Claim |
| No. | Portrait | King (Birth–Death) | Reign start | Reign end | Duration | House | Claim |
| 1 | | Prithvi Narayan Shah पृथ्वी नारायण शाह (1723–1775) | 25 September 1768 | 11 January 1775 | 6 years, 108 days | Shah | King of the Gorkha Kingdom since 1743 |
| 2 | | Pratap Singh Shah प्रताप सिंह शाह (1751–1777) | 11 January 1775 | 17 November 1777 | 2 years, 310 days | Shah | Son of Prithvi Narayan Shah |
| 3 | | Rana Bahadur Shah रण बहादुर शाह (1775–1806) | 17 November 1777 | 8 March 1799 (abdicated) | 21 years, 111 days | Shah | Son of Pratap Singh Shah |
| 4 | | Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah गीर्वाणयुद्ध विक्रम शाह (1797–1816) | 8 March 1799 | 20 November 1816 | 17 years, 257 days | Shah | Son of Rana Bahadur Shah |
| 5 | | Rajendra Bikram Shah राजेन्द्र विक्रम शाह (1813–1881) | 20 November 1816 | 12 May 1847 (abdicated) | 30 years, 173 days | Shah | Son of Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah |
| 6 | | Surendra Bikram Shah सुरेन्द्र विक्रम शाह (1829–1881) | 12 May 1847 | 17 May 1881 | 34 years, 5 days | Shah | Son of Rajendra Bikram Shah |
| 7 | | Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah पृथ्वी वीर विक्रम शाह (1875–1911) | 17 May 1881 | 11 December 1911 | 30 years, 208 days | Shah | Grandson of Surendra Bikram Shah |
| 8 | | Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह (1906–1955) | 11 December 1911 | 7 November 1950 (went into exile) | 38 years, 331 days | Shah | Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah |
| 9 | | Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह (born 1947) | 7 November 1950 | 7 January 1951 (stepped down) | 61 days | Shah | Grandson of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah |
| (8) | | Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह (1906–1955) | 7 January 1951 | 13 March 1955 | 4 years, 65 days | Shah | Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah |
| 10 | | Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह (1920–1972) | 14 March 1955 | 31 January 1972 | 16 years, 323 days | Shah | Son of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah |
| 11 | | Birendra Bir Bikram Shah वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह (1945–2001) | 31 January 1972 | 1 June 2001 (assassinated) | 29 years, 121 days | Shah | Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah |
| 12 | | Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah दीपेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह (1971–2001) | 1 June 2001 | 4 June 2001 (declared braindead) | 3 days | Shah | Son of Birendra Bir Bikram Shah |
| (9) | | Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह (born 1947) | 4 June 2001 | 28 May 2008 (deposed) | 6 years, 359 days | Shah | Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah |

### Transitional period (State of Nepal, 2007–2008)

Under the interim constitution adopted in January 2007, all powers of governance were removed from the king, and the Constituent Assembly elected in 2008 was to decide in its first meeting whether to continue the monarchy or to declare a republic. During the suspension of the monarchy, Girija Prasad Koirala, then Prime Minister of Nepal, acted as the Head of State. On 28 May 2008, the Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy. Ram Baran Yadav was elected by the Constituent Assembly, and was sworn in as the nation's first president on 23 July 2008.
Status:  Denotes Acting Head of State
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Party |
| – | | Girija Prasad Koirala (गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइराला) (1925–2010) Acting | 15 January 2007 | 23 July 2008 | 1 year, 190 days | Congress |

## Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (2008–present)

| No. | President | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Election |
| 1 | Yadav, Ram BaranRam Baran Yadav (रामवरण यादव) (born 1948) | 23 July 2008 | 29 October 2015 | 7 years, 98 days | Congress | 2008 |
| 2 | Bhandari, Bidya DeviBidya Devi Bhandari (विद्यादेवी भण्डारी) (born 1961) | 29 October 2015 | 13 March 2023 | 7 years, 135 days | CPN (UML) | 2015 2018 |
| 3 | Poudel, Ram ChandraRam Chandra Poudel (राम चन्द्र पौडेल) (born 1944) | 13 March 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 348 days | Congress | 2023 |