Editing Kingdom of Nepal (section)

==Government and politics==

[[File:Nepali Congress 1951.jpg|thumb|The [[Nepali Congress]] leader with [[King Tribhuvan]] and [[Prime minister of Nepal|Nepali prime minister]] in a meeting, 1951]]
[[File:Mahendra_of_Nepal_in_Conoration,_1955.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Mahendra of Nepal]] in conoration, 1955]]
Until 1990, Nepal was an [[absolute monarchy]] running under the executive control of the king. Faced with a people's movement against the absolute monarchy, King Birendra, in 1990, agreed to large-scale political reforms by creating a [[parliamentary monarchy]] with the king as the [[head of state]] and a prime minister as the [[head of the government]].
 
Nepal's legislature was [[bicameral]] consisting of a [[Nepal House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and a [[National Council of Nepal|National Council]]. The House of Representatives consists of 205 members directly elected by the people. The National Council had sixty members, ten nominated by the king, thirty-five elected by the House of Representatives and the remaining fifteen elected by an electoral college made up of chairs of villages and towns. The legislature had a five-year term but was dissolvable by the king before its term could end. All Nepali citizens 18 years and older became eligible to vote.
 
The executive comprised the King and the [[Council of Ministers]] (the [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]]). The leader of the coalition or party securing the maximum seats in an election was appointed as the Prime Minister. The Cabinet was appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Governments in Nepal have tended to be highly unstable; no government has survived for more than two years since 1991, either through internal collapse or parliamentary dissolution by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister according to the constitution.
 
The movement in April 2006 brought about a change in the nation. The autocratic King was forced to give up power. The dissolved House of Representatives was restored. The House of Representatives formed a government that had successful peace talks with the Maoist Rebels. An interim constitution was promulgated and an interim House of Representatives was formed with Maoist members. The number of seats was also increased to 330. The peace process in Nepal made a giant leap in April 2007, when the [[List of communist parties in Nepal|Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)]] joined the interim government of Nepal.