Thapa, Surya Bahadur

Born Mar. 20,1928, in Dhankuta, Kosi. Nepalese political and state figure.

Born into the family of a big landowner, Thapa received his higher education in India. From 1950 to 1957 he was a member of the Nepali Congress party. In subsequent years he was formally outside the party system; he collaborated closely, however, with the landowners’ Gorkha parishad (Gurkha Party). After the coup of 1960, he supported the new panchayat system. Between 1960 and 1968, Thapa held several ministerial posts. He was vicechairman of the Council of Ministers from 1963 to 1965, chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1965 to 1967, and prime minister from 1967 to 1969. After he was dismissed as prime minister, he opposed the government. Thapa was arrested in 1972 and released in 1974.