Gyanendra, Bir Bikram Shah Deva (1947- )

King of Nepal from 2001. He took the throne on 4 June 2001 after the death of his nephew, Crown Prince Dipendra, who had massacred Gyanendra's brother, King Birendra, Birendra's wife and Dipendra's mother Queen Aiswarya, and seven other royals on 1st June 2001. Dipendra, who died on 4 June from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, had been enraged by Queen Aiswarya's rejection of his choice of bride. All three of Birendra's children died in the massacre, leaving Gyanendra next in line. His enthronement was not popular and curfews had to be introduced in Kathmandu, after violent riots by Nepalis confused by contradictory stories about why the murders occurred.

A businessman and conservationist, Gyanendra did not receive the popular veneration given to Birendra. Despite being suspected of more authoritarian tendencies than his brother, he pledged to uphold the democratic reforms presided over by Birendra, who had created a constitutional monarchy, and Gyanendra made alleviation of poverty a priority. However, in November 2001 he declared a state of emergency and ordered the Nepalese Army into action against Maoist rebels for the first time, after 280 people were killed in a wave of attacks. The rebels had been fighting for a communist republic since 1996 and had recently called off a four-month ceasefire.