Matrika Prasad Koirala

Matrika Prasad Koirala (Nepali: मातृका प्रसाद कोइराला Listen^ⓘ; 1 January 1912 – 11 September 1997)^[1] was the Prime Minister of Nepal for two separate terms from 16 November 1951 to 14 August 1952 and again from 15 June 1953 to 11 April 1955.^[2]

Matrika Prasad Koirala मातृका प्रसाद कोइराला
Koirala c. 1950s
18th Prime Minister of Nepal
In office 16 November 1951 – 14 August 1952
Monarch	Tribhuvan
Preceded by	Mohan Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
Succeeded by	Direct Rule by King Tribhuvan
In office 15 June 1953 – 11 April 1955
Monarchs	Tribhuvan Mahendra
Preceded by	Direct Rule by King Tribhuvan
Succeeded by	Interim Served by Surya Bahadur Thapa
Nepali Ambassador to the United States
In office 13 July 1961 – 3 August 1964
Preceded by	Rishikesh Shah
Succeeded by	Padma Bahadur Khatri
1st President of the Nepali Congress
In office 12 April 1950 – 26 May 1952
Preceded by	Party established
Succeeded by	B. P. Koirala
Personal details
Born	(1912-01-01)1 January 1912 Varanasi, British India
Died	11 September 1997(1997-09-11) (aged 85) Biratnagar, Nepal
Parent(s)	Krishna Prasad Koirala Mohan Kumari Koirala
Relatives	See Koirala family

Personal life

Koirala was born to Krishna Prasad Koirala and his first wife Mohan Kumari Koirala in 1912 in Varanasi, British India. His brothers were Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala and Girija Prasad Koirala, who also served as prime ministers of Nepal, and politician and journalist Tarini Prasad Koirala.

Political career

Matrika Prasad Koirala was politically active in India where his father Krishna Prasad Koirala was living in exile. He stayed in the house of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of free India and was influenced by the Indian independence struggle. He participated in the Indian independence movement with his brother BP Koirala. Both brothers were arrested and imprisoned by the British Raj for three months in 1930.^[3] He was made President of the Congress Party in Bihar by Dr Rajendra Prasad for a while as all the other senior Indian leaders were jailed during the Quit India Movement.

He later joined the Nepali National Congress led by Tanka Prasad Acharya and fought against the Rana regime. Koirala became the first President of Nepali Congress, when it was formed as a result of the merger of Nepali National Congress and Nepal Democratic Congress in April 1950.^[4] Koirala became the first commoner Prime Minister of Nepal after Rana rule ended.^{[citation needed]}

In 1952, he was expelled from the Nepali Congress for "violating the party principles and acting against the Constitution of 1951".^[5]

Koirala also served as Nepal's permanent representative to the UN and ambassador to the United States from 1961 to 1964.^[6]