Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (Nepali: ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर बिक्रम शाह; Jñānendra Vīra Bikrama Śāh) (born 7 July 1947) was the last King of Nepal. He is the only king in Nepal who was crowned king twice in his lifetime. He reigned as "King Gyanendra" from his accession in 2001 until the dissolution of the monarchy in 2008, when he became a private citizen and was stripped of his royal titles and status. His reign is considered to have been a disaster ...
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Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (Nepali: ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर बिक्रम शाह; Jñānendra Vīra Bikrama Śāh) (born 7 July 1947) was the last King of Nepal. He is the only king in Nepal who was crowned king twice in his lifetime. He reigned as "King Gyanendra" from his accession in 2001 until the dissolution of the monarchy in 2008, when he became a private citizen and was stripped of his royal titles and status. His reign is considered to have been a disaster for the monarchist cause in Nepal; in particular, his decision to impose direct rule caused the Maoist insurgency and the moderate democratic political parties to unite in opposition to his absolute rule, an alliance which under any other circumstances would have been extraordinarily unlikely.
He succeeded to the throne upon the death of his nephew Dipendra, who was King for only three days while in a coma, following the massacre of the preceding king (Gyanendra's brother, Birendra) and other members of the royal family.
In February 2005,...
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