When he was sworn in for his fourth term in July last year, the 73-year-old leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), or CPN-UML, promised to fight corruption and poverty in the landlocked country wedged between India and China.
From a teenage revolutionary imprisoned for 14 years to the country’s highest office, Oli has been a central player during the political and economic uncertainty that has beset Nepal since protests led to the abolition of its monarchy in 2008.
Born in 1952 in eastern Nepal, Oli’s early life was marked by hardship. His mother died of smallpox when he was four, and his family was displaced by floods, forcing him to live with his grandparents.
He entered politics as a young activist aligned with communist ideology and was imprisoned in the 1970s and 1980s for opposing the monarchy, an experience that shaped his political outlook and public image.
He was a founding member of the CPN-UML and became prominent nationally as he developed an ability to forge political alliances. He held key ministerial roles, including as interior and foreign minister, before serving as prime minister.
Oli first assumed the premiership in 2015 at a time when a blockade of its border crossings with India left the country short of fuel and medicine for several months.
Considered by some political watchers to be closer to China, Oli adopted a tougher line with India in his first term as he whipped up nationalist sentiment while altering Nepal’s map by including disputed territories controlled by India.
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