Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat became the new Finance Minister of Nepal in February 2014, his sixth stint in this job intermittently since 1994. Prior to this, he was Deputy Chairman of the National Planning Commission for three years. He is widely acknowledged as one of the key architects of the economic reforms in the Post 1990 period which brought significant improvements in Nepal's economy with higher growth, progress in human development indicators and decline in poverty level.
His tenure also saw many reforms in the public expenditure management, finance and banking, and revenue reforms including the introduction of the Value Added Tax. He was the principal author of Nepal's Eighth Plan which brought about sweeping policy changes in the economy, with greater role to the private sector in economic activities. During his time as Finance Minister, Nepal was elected chairman of the IMF/World Bank Board of Governors for 1998/99. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for about a year in 1999-2000.
