Bhimsen Thapa

Bhimsen Thapa (Nepali: भीमसेन थापा 1775 - July 28, 1839) was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1806 to 1837. After his initial rise to power during the reign of Rana Bahadur, the immature age of Girvan Yuddha Shah and Rajendra Bikram Shah, coupled with the support from Rani Tripurasundari (the junior queen), who was also his niece, allowed him to continue to stay in power. During his prime ministership, the Gurkha empire had already reached its greatest expanse from Sutlej river in the west to the Teesta river in the east. Nepal entered into a disastrous Anglo-Nepalese War with the East India Company lasting from 1814–16, which was concluded with the Treaty of Sugauli, by which Nepal lost almost one-third of its land. The death of Queen Tripurasundari in 1832, his strongest supporter, and the adulthood of king Rajendra, weakened his hold on power. The conspiracies and infighting with rival courtiers finally led to his imprisonment and death by suicide.