| Post: | Chief Minister |
| Body: | Koshi Province |
| Native Name: | कोशी प्रदेशका मुख्यमन्त्री |
| Insigniasize: | 195px |
| Insigniacaption: | Seal of Koshi Province |
| Incumbent: | Hikmat Kumar Karki |
| Incumbentsince: | 9 May 2024 |
| Department: | Chief Minister's Office Government of Koshi Province |
| Style: | Honorable Mr. Chief Minister |
| Status: | Head of Government |
| Abbreviation: | CMO |
| Appointer: | Governor |
| Termlength: | Until majority confidence retained in provincial assembly Assembly term is 5 years unless dissolved earlier |
| Termlength Qualified: | No term limits |
| First: | Sher Dhan Rai |
| Salary: | रु. - 61,000 |
The chief minister of the Koshi Province is the head of government of Koshi Province. The chief minister is appointed by the governor of the province according to Article 167 of the Constitution of Nepal.[1] The chief minister remains in office for five years or until the provincial assembly is dissolved, and is subject to no term limits, given that they have the confidence of the assembly.
The current chief minister is CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)' Hikmat Kumar Karki, in office since 9 May 2024.[2]
The Constitution of Nepal sets the qualifications required to become eligible for the office of chief minister. A chief minister must meet the qualifications to become a member of the provincial assembly.[3]
A member of the provincial assembly must be:
In addition to this, the chief minister must be the parliamentary party leader of the party with the majority seats in the provincial assembly. If no party has a majority, the chief minister must have a majority in the assembly with the support from other parties. If within thirty days of the election, a chief minister is not appointed as such, or fails to obtain a vote of confidence from the assembly, the parliamentary party leader of the party with the most seats in the assembly is appointed chief minister. If the chief minister such appointed fails to obtain a vote of confidence in the assembly, any assembly member who can command a majority in the floor, irrespective of party allegiance, is appointed chief minister. If this chief minister also fails to obtain a vote of confidence, the governor dissolves the assembly and fresh elections are called.[4]
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Assembly | Political party | Cabinet | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
| 1 | Sher Dhan Rai | 14 February 2018 | 26 August 2021 | 1st | CPN (UML) | S. D. Rai | [5] [6] | |||
| 2 | Bhim Acharya | 26 August 2021 | 1 November 2021 | Acharya | [7] [8] | |||||
| 3 | R. K. Rai | 2 November 2021 | 9 January 2023 | CPN (Unified Socialist) | R. Rai | [9] | ||||
| 4 | Hikmat Kumar Karki | 9 January 2023 | 7 July 2023 | 2nd | CPN (UML) | H. K. Karki I | [10] | |||
| 5 | Uddhav Thapa | 7 July 2023 | 2 August 2023 | Nepali Congress | Thapa I | [11] | ||||
| 2 August 2023 | 8 September 2023 | Thapa II | [12] | |||||||
| Hikmat Kumar Karki | 8 September 2023 | 15 October 2023 | CPN (UML) | H. K. Karki II | [13] | |||||
| 6 | Kedar Karki | 15 October 2023 | 9 May 2024 | Nepali Congress | K. Karki | [14] | ||||
| Hikmat Kumar Karki | 9 May 2024 | Incumbent | CPN (UML) | H. K. Karki III | [15] | |||||