KATHMANDU Madhav Kumar Nepal, who resigned on Wednesday as Nepal's prime minister, was appointed little more than a year ago to head the unwieldy 22-party coalition that succeeded the Maoist-led government.

Seen as weak from the start, his government spent much of its time in office focusing on a series of power struggles with the opposition Maoists, while the desperately poor country's troubles grew.

The 57-year-old former leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) was catapulted into the job in May 2009 after his Maoist predecessor quit in a row over the integration of Maoist former fighters into the national army.

Often known as “M.K.N.”, Nepal had been a key figure in politics for decades and was one of the leaders of the 2006 protests against the authoritarian rule of former king Gyanendra that led to the restoration of democracy a year later.

But he had lost his seat in 2008 elections and resigned from the leadership of his party. He emerged as prime minister as a compromise candidate for all 22 members of the fragile coalition that replaced the Maoist-led government.

Appointed for his diplomatic skills, the contrast with his predecessor, the charismatic Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal - better known as Prachanda - could scarcely have been more marked.

“Intellect and charisma are not his forte but Nepal has the best of political capital a clean political image,” said Thira L. Bhusal in a column for the Republica daily at the time.

Nepal was born in 1953 in the south of the country and studied commerce, working in a bank before becoming attracted to the communist movement and taking up politics full time.

He was elected as a member of parliament for his home district in 1999 and served as deputy prime minister between 1994 and 1995.

As prime minister, he was boosted by the support of the country's foreign backers, notably India, which exerts a strong influence over its landlocked northern neighbour and had been eager to see the back of the Maoists.

But his government failed to fulfil its mandate to oversee the completion of the peace process and the drafting of a new constitution, and he had little public support by the end of his time in office.

Just six per cent of respondents in a recent opinion poll said they supported Nepal as prime minister, while 20 per cent said they would back his predecessor, Dahal.—AFP