Kathmandu, August 30
The government has appointed Ek Narayan Aryal as the new Chief Secretary. The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Aryal will succeed Liladevi Gadtoula, who will retire on Friday due to the mandatory age limit of 58 years. Gadtoula, who was appointed Chief Secretary on July 25, will hand over the position to Aryal before she departs from Singha Durbar.
Aryal, currently serving as the Home Secretary, was fourth in seniority among secretaries. Despite this, he was chosen over other senior candidates, including Toya Narayan Gyawali of the National Planning Commission, Ram Krishna Subedi of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, and Dinesh Bhattarai of the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.
According to the Civil Service Act of 1992, the position of Chief Secretary is filled based on seniority and performance among serving secretaries. Aryal, who joined the civil service as a non-gazetted officer in 1989, rose through the ranks to become a secretary in 2019.
The race for the Chief Secretary position began on June 23, following corruption charges against then-Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal. The government, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the time, appointed Gadtoula as Acting Chief Secretary without a permanent replacement.
After KP Sharma Oli became Prime Minister in late June, Aryal’s chances for the position increased. Aryal, known for his close ties to Prime Minister Oli, emerged as the strongest candidate. With his appointment on Thursday, the first-ranked secretary, Toya Narayan Gyawali, is set to retire on September 7 after completing his five-year tenure.
