Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki will lead the interim government in Nepal, where daily life is gradually returning to normalcy following days-long violence and a political crisis.
President Ramchandra Paudel administered the oath of office to Karki, 73, on Friday evening, three days after Oli resigned from the post. Nepal's chief justice, senior government officials, security chiefs, and members of the diplomatic community attended the swearing-in.
Karki will be the first woman prime minister of the Himalayan nation.
At least three dozen people lost their lives in the youth-led agitation, which forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign and pave the way for a new regime.
Authorities on Saturday lifted the curfew and restrictive orders imposed in Kathmandu Valley and other parts of Nepal, even as an uneasy calm prevails in the country.
Who is Sushila Karki?
Karki, known for her integrity and plain-speaking, is the first woman chief justice of Nepal. She held the post from July 2016 to June 2017, during which her verdicts, especially on corruption cases, earned her both admiration and criticism.
In 2017, she faced an impeachment motion filed by lawmakers of the then-ruling Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre). The members alleged bias in her verdict, disqualifying the head of the anti-corruption watchdog.
Karki was suspended following the motion. But the move led to widespread protests and the intervention of the Supreme Court which stayed further proceedings against her.
Born in 1952 as the eldest of seven children in a Chhetri family in Shankarpur, Karki completed her master's in political science from Banaras Hindu University. She later enrolled for LLB at Tribhuvan University.
Karki began her legal career in 1979, though she briefly worked as an assistant teacher at Mahendra Multiple Campus in Dharan. She actively participated in the 1990 People's Movement against the Panchayat system and was briefly jailed.
In 2009, she was appointed as an ad hoc justice at the Supreme Court of Nepal. In 2010, she became a permanent justice of the Supreme Court. Six years later, in July 2016, she became the first woman chief justice of Nepal.
Karki has authored two books—Nyaya (autobiography) and Kara (novel).
First woman PM
The decision to choose Karki to lead the interim government was taken at a meeting between President Paudel, Nepal's top military brass, and the youth protesters.
The protesters had reportedly proposed her name, considering she is not affiliated with any political party and her strong stand against corruption.
In the first meeting of her cabinet, she is likely to recommend to the president the dissolution of the Parliament as per an understanding reached during the negotiations between the youth leaders and the president, PTI reported, quoting top sources.