Shailaja Acharya

Shailaja Acharya
शैलजा आचार्य
Prime Minister of Nepal (acting)
In office September 1998 – December 1998
Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal
In office 1995–2000
Constituency	Morang-5
President of Nepali Congress Party
In office 1994–1999
Constituency	Morang
Minister of Agriculture and forests
In office 1991–1993
Monarch	Birendra
Prime Minister	Girija Prasad Koirala
Minister of Water Resources
In office 1997–1998
Monarch	Birendra
Member of Parliament, Pratinidhi Sabha
In office 15 April 1998[1] – 1998
Monarch	Birendra
Prime Minister	Girija Prasad Koirala[1]
Nepal's Ambassador to India
In office 2007–TBD
Preceded by	Karna Dhoj Adhikari
Personal details
Born	1944
Died	12 June 2009 T.U.Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu
Nationality	Nepalese
Political party	Nepali Congress
Relatives	Matrika Prasad Koirala (uncle) BP Koirala, (uncle) Girija Prasad Koirala (uncle) Tarini Prasad Koirala (uncle) Manisha Koirala (niece) Sujata Koirala (cousin) Shashanka Koirala (cousin) Shekhar Koirala (cousin) Prakash Koirala (cousin) Siddharth Koirala (nephew)
Occupation	activist, politician, diplomat
Awards	Maha Ujjwal Rashtradip

Shailaja Acharya (Nepali: शैलजा आचार्य) (1944 – 12 June 2009) was a Nepali revolutionary, politician and diplomat. She served as The Prime Minister of Nepal for three months in 1998 , She also was the first Nepali woman to be elected as the Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal

A member of the influential Koirala family, Acharya entered active politics as a student, and was held political prisoner for three years as a teenager, after she showed a black flag to King Mahendra in protest of coup d'état by the monarchy against the democratically elected government in 1961. Upon release, she went into self-exile in India where she fostered a close friendship with Indian leaders, notably Chandra Sekhar, while she continued to advance the democratic struggle against the Panchayat System. She played an instrumental role in organising the youth movement, collecting and smuggling arms and ammunition for a possible armed conflict and publishing a paper to raise political awareness. She accompanied BP Koirala when the latter returned to Nepal and was immediately arrested upon arrival. She spent a total of five years in jail during the Panchayat regime.

After the reinstitution of democracy, Acharya was elected twice to parliament, in 1991 and 1994. Between 1991 and 1993, she was the Minister for Agriculture, a post she resigned in protest of corruption in the government. In 1997, she became the first woman Minister for Water Resources, and in 1998, she became the first woman deputy prime minister. After King Gyanendra suspended democracy in another coup, she continued to support constitutional monarchy publicly, in defiance of her party's position. She was appointed ambassador to India in 2007.

Acharya was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2007. She died of pneumonia in Kathmandu on 12 June 2009. She is remembered for her principled positions, her defiance of tyranny at a young age, her role in the fight for democracy, and her philanthropic activities. She was awarded the honour of Maha Ujjwal Rashtradip by the government of Nepal in 2014.