3 ministers sworn in as Nepal’s Cabinet takes shape

Nepal President Ram Chandra Poudel on Monday administered the oath of office to the first three ministers of the newly constituted interim government, marking the initial step in PM Sushila Karki’s effort to put together her Cabinet.

At a televised ceremony held outside the fire-damaged Sheetal Niwas, the presidential office, Rameshore Prasad Khanal, Kulman Ghising and Om Prakash Aryal took their oaths of office and secrecy.

Khanal, a former finance secretary, will head the Finance Ministry. Ghising, the widely respected former chief of the Nepal Electricity Authority, has been given charge of three portfolios — Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation; Physical Infrastructure and Transport; and Urban Development. Aryal, a lawyer and former legal advisor to the Kathmandu mayor, will lead the Home Ministry as well as the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

Karki, who took office on Friday after the resignation of KP Sharma Oli, was present at the swearing-in.

Karki, Nepal’s first woman PM and an ex-chief justice, is heading a transitional administration tasked with steering the country to fresh general elections scheduled for March 5, 2026.