Nepal’s first woman supreme court chief justice, Sushila Karki, will be sworn in to lead the government in the Himalayan nation after deadly protests ousted the prime minister.
Known for her insistence on integrity, the 73-year-old has often spoken about the need for transparency and independence in a judiciary frequently under intense political pressure.
“President Ram Chandra Paudel will appoint former chief justice Sushila Karki as the prime minister,” presidential press adviser Kiran Pokharel told AFP, ahead of her expected swearing in later today.
Karki emerged as the leading candidate by many “Gen Z” representatives – the loose umbrella title of the protest movement.
The Himalayan nation of 30 million people was plunged into chaos this week after security forces tried to crush rallies by young anti-corruption protesters, culminating in widespread violence on Tuesday. At least 51 people were killed in the worst violence since the end of a Maoist civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.
The military took back control of the streets on Wednesday, enforcing a curfew, as army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel and President Ramchandra Paudel held talks with key figures and representatives from “Gen Z”, the loose umbrella title of the youth protest movement.
She told Nepali media that the Gen Z protesters had told her that “they believe in me” to lead for “a short time for the purpose of doing elections”.
“She is a credible choice to lead the interim government,” Anil Kumar Sinha, a former justice of the supreme court who worked with Karki, told AFP.
“Her integrity has never been in doubt, and she is not someone who can be intimidated or easily influenced. She is courageous and not swayed by pressure.”
‘In favour of youth’
In a speech broadcast on Nepali media earlier this year, she spoke of ingrained corruption.
“We see it everywhere but we don’t speak – now we need the youth to speak up, take the lead and stand in elections”, she said.
“What I have seen in the last 35 years does not work, I am 100 per cent in favour of youth coming forward.”
Her tenure as chief justice, from 2016 to 2017, was brief but significant – challenging gender stereotypes and facing down politicians over corruption.
Karki came of age in a society where women rarely entered the legal profession.
Born in 1952 in Biratnagar, an industrial town in eastern Nepal, she earned degrees in political science in India and in law in Kathmandu.
She began her career as a lawyer in 1979, and quickly gained a reputation as a fearless advocate, often taking up cases others avoided.