Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat

Hon'ble Finance Minister
Tenure : 2079-12-17 to 2080-11-21

Honorable Prakash Sharan Mahat was born in Nuwakot, Nepal on 05 November 1959. During his political career of more than three decades, he has been actively involved in conflict resolution, the peace process as well as economic development of Nepal.

Honorable Mahat assumed office as Minister for Finance on 31 March 2023. He served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from August 2016 to May 2017. As a member of the Constituent Assembly from 2008 to 2015 and the Assembly's Constitution Drafting Committee from 2014 to 2015, he played a vital role in the drafting and promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal. He was a member of the Legislative Parliament from 2015 to 2017. He was also a Member of the Interim Legislative Parliament from 2006 to 2008.

He served as Energy Minister from 2010 to 2011, State Minister for Foreign Affairs from June 2004 to February 2005, and Member of National Planning Commission from April 2002 to October 2002. In June 2007, he also served as a Member of the Special Parliamentary Committee for State Reconstruction.

He was a Member Secretary of the High-Level Committee constituted by Nepal Government in 1999 for the Resolution of Maoist insurgency. Similarly, from 2006 to June 2007, he served as a Member of the National Peace Committee, which was constituted for facilitating dialogue and helping government to work on peace deal and preparation of peace accord. Prior to his appointment as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2016, Hon. Mahat served as a member of the Special Parliamentary Hearing Committee from 2015 to August 2016.

From August 2007 to June 2008, he was entrusted with the responsibility to negotiate with different agitating groups in Nepal as one of the Members of Government Dialogue Team.

He began his political career by being actively involved in student politics during the late 1970s. He served as General Secretary of Nepal Students' Union from, 1983 to 1997, Member of Action Committee, People's Movement of 1990 on behalf of Nepali Congress, Member of Central Economic Policy Committee of Nepali Congress from 1998 to 1999.Honorable Mahat was a Joint General Secretary of the Nepali Congress Party from 2018-2021. He has been serving as the Party’s Spokesperson since 2022.

Honorable Mahat is a Ph.D. in Economics from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, USA. Similarly, he holds a degree of Master of Science in Policy Economics from the University of Illinois and Masters in Economics from Tribhuwan University. He has been widely involved in writing policy papers, research papers, articles, and reports, especially related to development, peace process, and politics.

In his various official capacities, Honorable Mahat has represented Nepal in several international conferences and summits as well as various bilateral, regional, and multilateral meetings.

He is married to Mrs. Bina Mahat and is the father of two children. His family lives in Kathmandu.