General secretary of CPN-UML Ishwar Pokhrel was born on February 4, 1954 in Mamkha, Okhaldhunga. Father of two sons, Ishwar Pokhrel is the son of Shivraj Pokhrel and Ramkumari Pokhrel. He holds Bachelor's Degrees in Literature and Education Faculty. He is contesting from Kathmandu-5 in the CA Election 2013 representing CPN-UML. Pokhrel is literate and never had the opportunity to go to school due to familial responsibilities since childhood. He joined Nepal Communist Party in 1970 and became a full-time activist in 1976. He remained underground for party works and was jailed several times. He was a member of the All Nepal Communist Revolutionary Coordination Committee (ML) in 1977. In 1979, he became CPN (ML)'s central member and is a founder member of CPN-UML. He was the political advisor to the prime minister during the UML's minority government in 1995. In 1998, Pokhrel became a member of the National Assembly and was elected as Member of Parliament from Kathmandu-3 in 2000.
