Nepal's communist leader named new PM

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The President of Nepal, Ye Devi Devi Bhandari, appointed the leader of the Maoist Communist Party and former rebel leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as prime minister for the third time on Sunday, after his Maoist party formed a coalition, following the elections held on November 20.

President-elect Dahal, known by his nom de guerre "Prachanda" or "the fierce", was hidden for years in forests during Nepal's civil war between 1996-2006, which claimed the lives of nearly 17,000 people and led to the fall of the monarchy.

A spokesperson for the country's president, Sagar Acharya, told AFP that Dahal was appointed as the new prime minister and would be sworn in Monday afternoon.

Elections in the Himalayan country of 29 million people saw Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's ruling coalition lose his majority even though the Nepali Congress Party remained the largest party in parliament.

The Maoist Communist Party, led by Dahal, formed an alliance with another communist party, and six other parties, including the New Independent National Party, led by TV presenter Rabbi Lamichan.

After concluding peace agreements with the help of the United Nations in 2006, the Maoists gave up their armed rebellion, Dahal transformed his Maoist revolutionary movement into a political party, after which he came to power through parliamentary elections in 2008.

He also served as Prime Minister for a short time between 2008-2009, but he resigned a year later after disagreements with the president. He served another term as prime minister, which lasted from 2016 to 2017.