Former prime minister of Nepal Sushil Koirala passed away in the wee hours today.
Koirala was suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Born on August 12, 1939 in Banaras, Koirala was the cousin of former prime ministers Matrika Prasad Koirala, Girija Prasad Koirala and Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala.
He entered politics in 1954 and was in political exile in India for 16 years following the royal takeover of 1960.
Koirala also spent three years in Indian prisons for his involvement in a plane hijacking in 1973.
He joined the Nepali Congress in 1952 and served in various capacities prior to becoming its president in 2010.
Koirala, who was elected Prime Minister of Nepal on February 10, 2014, resigned in October last year after parties failed to forge a consensus amid continued protests and blockade of a key border trade point with India over the country's new Constitution.