Former chief justice Sushila Karki was sworn in as Nepal's interim prime minister on Friday, becoming the first woman to lead the country after deadly anti-graft protests forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign.

President Ramchandra Paudel administered the oath of office to Karki at the presidential palace in a ceremony broadcast live.

Karki's appointment by the president followed negotiations between Paudel, army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel and the protesters who led Nepal's worst upheaval in years.

Karki is tasked with holding fresh elections to the lower house of parliament by March 11, 2026, the president's office said. She is expected to appoint other ministers in a few days, authorities said. Fifty-one people were killed and more than 1,300 injured this week in anti-graft protests.

The protest was sparked by a social media ban that has since been rolled back. The violence subsided only after Oli resigned on Tuesday.

The only woman to have served as chief justice, Karki was the preferred choice of the protesters who cite her reputation for honesty and integrity and her stance against corruption.

She held the top judicial post for about a year until mid-2017.

Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional expert and analyst, said Karki’s first challenge was to investigate the violence and destruction of public property during the protest and bring those responsible to justice.

“She must provide good governance, control corruption, maintain law and order, assure the people about the security conditions and make policing strong,” he said, adding that all these were major challenges. (Reuters)