By IANS,
Kathmandu : Milestones in life of ex-king Gyanendra of Nepal:
* Nov 1950: Baby prince Gyanendra crowned king as three-year-old after his grandfather Tribhuvan and father Mahendra flee to India
* June 4, 2001: Gyanendra becomes king again, four days after his elder brother King Birendra is assassinated inside the palace
* May 2002: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba dissolves lower house of parliament on king’s instigation
* Oct 2002: Gyanendra sacks Deuba and begins ruling Nepal indirectly through a series of handpicked cabinets
* Nov 2002: Maoists step up offensive, announcing opposition to elections. King clamps down emergency
* Feb 2005: Dispensing with all facades, Gyanendra seizes power after an army-backed bloodless coup and begins ruling directly as chairman of a new government
* April 2006: Nationwide uprising against royal regime. 19 days’ continuous protests paralyse the country and force the king to step down as head of government.
* May 2006: Lower house of parliament restored and begins slashing king’s powers
* Nov 2006: The Maoists sign a pact with the new government, both sides pledge to hold the first-ever constituent assembly election to decide the king’s fate
* March 2007: New constitution promulgated, king suspended as head of state
* Dec 2007: Under pressure from Maoists, parliament proclaims Nepal a republic with the proviso that the actual implementation would start after the first meeting of the elected constituent assembly
*April 10, 2008: Constituent assembly election held after two false starts. Maoists emerge as biggest party
* May 24, 2008: Prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala asks Maoists to form new government
* May 27, 2008: Ceremonial president replaces king as head of state
* May 28, 2008: Nepal formally declared a republic