KATHMANDU, Feb 1: His supporters say Nepal's King Gyanendra is a no-nonsense man who never shies away from taking tough decisions. Critics say the poetry-loving monarch, who sacked his prime minister and government on Tuesday, is nothing but an autocrat who often oversteps his powers.

Either way, nobody can ignore the 58-year-old who was first named king when he was just a toddler and then returned to the throne in 2001 after a bizarre palace shootout in which his brother and several members of the royal family were killed.

On Tuesday, King Gyanendra sacked the government and assumed power for the next three years, saying the leadership had failed to hold elections or to restore peace amid an escalating civil war with Maoist rebels.

It is the second time a king has taken power since the impoverished nation abandoned its absolute monarchy and elected its first prime minister in 1991. Many Nepalis say the portly, severe man, usually dressed in narrow daura suruwal trousers and a knee-length shirt, is the reason their country is in crisis.

Since he took over, democracy has been frozen and a brutal Maoist campaign to replace the constitutional monarchy with a communist republic has become steadily more bloody. The war has scared off tourists, and the economy of one of the world's poorest countries is faltering.

FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY: Many Nepalis still consider the king the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Hindu god of protection. But Gyanendra has never been as popular as his brother and predecessor, King Birendra.