Dr Biswo Poudel appointed as 18th Governor of NRB

KATHMANDU: Ending a 45-day leadership vacuum at the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the government on Tuesday appointed economist Dr Biswo Nath Poudel as the new governor.

A cabinet meeting held on Tuesday picked Poudel for the position from a list of three names recommended by a three-member committee led by Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel, according to Government Spokesperson Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung.

The decision comes after weeks of political deadlock. It is also expected to ease tensions between ruling coalition partners Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML.

The top post at the central bank had remained vacant since former governor Maha Prasad Adhikari completed his term on April 5.

NC had strongly lobbied for NRB Executive Director Dr Gunakar Bhatta to succeed Adhikari. Dr Bhatt had even submitted his resignation to clear the way for the appointment. However, Acting Governor Neelam Dhungana, who was among the aspirants for the position, declined to accept his resignation, effectively blocking his path.

Some sources say Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was for promoting Deputy Governor Dhungana to the position of Governor.

Amid this deadlock, Dr Poudel, who had been serving as a member of the Governor Recommendation Committee, was proposed to become governor by the NC. Dr Poudel accepted the offer and resigned from the position.

However, multiple rounds of discussion between PM Oli and NC Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba failed to yield a consensus. The two leaders, however, reached a consensus on Tuesday afternoon and the recommendation committee swiftly held its meeting and forwarded a three-member shortlist to the cabinet. The committee recommended the names of Dr Poudel, Deputy Governor Dr Nilam Dhungana and former Home Secretary Dinesh Bhattarai for appointment as the governor.

The committee itself had earlier been in limbo following the resignation of member Dr Bijaya Nath Bhattarai. It became functional only after Bhattarai was replaced by Adhikari. The government then brought in Economist Dr Posh Raj Pandey to replace Dr Poudel.

Who is Dr Poudel?
Dr Poudel holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and has long experience in policy-making. He has also served as the Vice-Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, the apex policy-making body of the government, and has also worked as an economic advisor to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Poudel contested the 2022 parliamentary election from the Chitwan-1 constituency of the House of Representatives. He lost to Hari Dhakal of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).

List of past governors:

Source: NRB