From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah
King of Nepal
Mahendra of Nepal (second from left) in a 1958 visit to Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.
King of Nepal
Reign	13 March 1955 – 31 January 1972
Predecessor	Tribhuvan
Successor	Birendra
Issue
Birendra,Gyanendra, Dhirendra
Born	11 June 1920(1920-06-11)
Died	31 January 1972 (aged 51) Diyalo Bangala, Chitwan, Nepal

Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah, King of Nepal (11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was King of Nepal from 1955 to 1972. He was also made a British Field Marshal 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.

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.

After his sudden death, he was succeeded by his son Birendra. He was well respected by Chinese leader such as Mao Tse Tung.

See also

• History of Nepal

Footnotes

Elvis Presley with Queen Ratna and King Mahendra, Los Angeles, 1960

1. ^  Possibly no heir for the time period of 1911 through 1920. Previous Crown Prince: Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, from 1906 to 1911.