Mahendra of Nepal
Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (
June 11,
1920 -
January 31,
1972) was king of
Nepal from
1955 to
1972 and the
British Field Marshals in 1960. He succeeded his father,
Tribhuvan, who had, after years as a puppet of the Rana family, finally managed to break their more than 100-year hegemony over the country. Unlike his father, however, Mahendra was not a supporter of
parliamentary democracy, and he banned opposition parties in the
1960s. After his sudden death, he was succeeded by his son
Birendra.
A younger son,
Gyanendra, was king as a small child from
1950 to
1951 when Tribhuvan, Mahendra and Birendra had fled the country to escape from the Rana family. After 50 years, Gyanendra reassumed the throne when his brother King
Birendra was killed in
2001.
*
History of NepalPossibly no heir for the time period of
1911 through
1920. Previous Crown Prince:
Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, from
1906 to
1911.
