Newly elected Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen) has taken the oath of office and secrecy.
President Ramchandra Paudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to Prime Minister Shah at a special ceremony held at the Office of the President in Sheetal Niwas, on Friday. Earlier, President Paudel had appointed Shah as the Prime Minister on Friday morning.
Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, outgoing Prime Minister Sushila Karki, Chairman of the National Assembly Narayan Prasad Dahal, Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut, senior member of the House of Representatives Arjun Narasingha KC among other leaders were present at the oath-taking ceremony.
Heads of constitutional bodies, high-ranking government officials, heads of security agencies, and officials of various diplomatic missions based in Nepal were present at the ceremony.
The oath-taking of the Prime Minister has been done for the first time in accordance with Vedic-Sanatan rituals. Along with the blowing of seven conch shells, 108 Batuks recited Swasti-Shanti and 108 Buddhist monks recited Shubha-Mangal.
Who is Balendra Shah?
The newly appointed Prime Minister Shah is the son of Ayurvedic physician Dr. Ram Narayan Shah and Dhruvadevi Shah. He was born on 14th Baisakh 2047 BS (April 27, 1990) in Naradevi, Kathmandu. His ancestral home is Ekadara, Mahottari.
Shah, who has also gained fame as a rap artist, completed his MTech in Structural Engineering from India and graduated in Civil Engineering from Purbanchal University.
Shah was elected as the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City in the local level elections of 2022. He resigned from the position of mayor on January 18, 2026 to contest in the House of Representatives elections on March 5.
During his tenure as the Mayor of Kathmandu, Shah made a significant contribution to the preservation of the Newa structures to promote tourism and the economy. He also contributed to leading urban governance and development programs, infrastructure improvement, heritage conservation, and service delivery enhancement.
Shah had contributed to remove illegal structures and improve urban management in Kathmandu metropolis as well as especially in 2025 post-earthquake reconstruction task in different areas of Nepal.
He, who has experience in bridge, road and building design and their construction, has laid special emphasis on heritage conservation, structural conservation, economic development through tourism and traditional Newa architecture.
Shah has composed more than two dozen of rap songs which are more focused on anti-corruption activities, expectation of good governance and youth and social issues.
After the election to the second Constituent Assembly, he had expressed his concern toward the country by releasing a song 'Ma Nepal Haseko Herna Chahanchhu (I want to see Nepal smile)'. A responsibility of fulfilling the mandate of Gen Z movement is now upon the shoulder of Shah after he supported the Gen Z movement that occurred on September 8 and 9.
He has to fulfill new generation's aspiration of change.
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