Sewa Lamsal is set to become the first female foreign secretary of Nepal.
Lamsal, who is already officiating as secretary following retirement of Bharat Raj Paudel on December 5, has also been recommended for secretary by the Public Service Commission and is likely to be appointed foreign secretary by the next Cabinet meeting.
All the 24 previous foreign secretaries from the first, Sardar Narendra Mani Acharya, appointed in 1948 to the last one, Paudel, were all men. Lamsal would be the first female foreign secretary in the 72-year history of the Foreign Ministry.
Sahana Pradhan became the first female foreign minister of Nepal in 2007 and Lamsal is set to become the first female foreign secretary 16 years after that. Sujata Koirala (2009) and Bimala Rai Paudel (January 2023) are the only other female foreign ministers of Nepal.
Lamsal, who joined civil service as a section officer in 1998, had joined foreign service as under secretary at the Department of Passports. She had also served as Nepali ambassador to Pakistan from 2016 to 2020. She also acted as non-residential envoys for Iran, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan while being posted to Pakistan.
