Puspa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda)

Age: 54

Designation: President CPN-M

Prachanda, alias Pushpa Kamal Dahal was born on December 11, 1954. He is the Chief of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the leader of People's Liberation Army (PLA), the military wing of CPN (M). CPN (M) launched the Maoist insurgency on the 13th of February 1996, in which more than 13,000 Nepalis were killed. Prachanda's extension of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to take specific account of Nepal's situation is known as the Prachanda Path. He became general secretary (party leader) of the Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) in 1986. This party, after a number of permutations became the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

He received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSc-Ag) from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS) in Rampur, Chitwan, and was reportedly once employed at a rural development project sponsored by USAID, in Jajarkot.

Prachanda lived underground even after the restoration of democracy in 1990. Until then a little-known figure, he controlled the clandestine wing of the party, while the parliamentary representation in the United People's Front was headed by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai. Since 1996, Prachanda has become internationally known as the leader of the CPN (M) military wing and its overall leader.

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