President

His Excellency Lok Bahadur Thapa

President of the 2026 session of the Economic and Social Council.

His Excellency Mr. Lok Bahadur Thapa was elected as the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for its 2025-2026 session on July 31, 2025.

Ambassador Thapa currently serves as the Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations. He assumed this role on 1 September 2023 with the presentation of his credentials to the UN Secretary-General on the same day.

Ambassador Thapa also serves as the Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), leading efforts to strengthen the collective voice of LDCs in global decision-making processes. He is currently serving as a member of the Governing Council of the UN Technology Bank for the LDCs. Mr. Thapa also served as one of the co-facilitators of the “Compromiso de Sevilla”, the outcome document of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4).

A distinguished career diplomat, Ambassador Thapa brings over 35 years of experience in Nepal’s Foreign Service, with extensive expertise in multilateral and bilateral diplomacy. Throughout his long diplomatic career, Ambassador Thapa has held numerous significant assignments and responsibilities both at home and abroad.

From 2016 to 2020, Mr. Thapa served as Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nepal to the Kingdom of Belgium and Head of Mission to the European Union. During this tenure, he was concurrently accredited to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. He also served concurrently as the Permanent Representative to several international organizations, including the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), World Customs Organization (WCO), Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), and Center for the Promotion of Products from Developing Countries (CBI). Mr. Thapa’s earlier diplomatic assignments include postings at the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, the Embassy of Nepal in Riyadh, and the Embassy of Nepal in Canberra.

At the national level, Mr. Thapa held key positions such as Head of the North-East Asia Division, Head of Southeast Asia Division, Head of West Asia Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, and Director General of the Department of Passport of the Ministry. During his tenure as the Director General of the Department, he introduced significant and inclusive reforms, including the launch of an online enrollment system and expedited service options, allowing citizens to obtain passports within a single day. During his career, he also worked in different divisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in various capacities. Ambassador Thapa also served as Protocol and Liaison Officer at the Office of the First President of Nepal (2008-2009) and worked as Personal Secretary to the then Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal in 2014.

Ambassador Thapa has also represented Nepal in high-level international forums as well as bilateral and multilateral negotiations on a range of issues. He has been a member of the official entourage of Nepal on numerous state and official visits to foreign countries and international forums, as well as a member of the Nepali delegation during official visits to Nepal by foreign dignitaries.

In 2021, Ambassador Thapa was conferred the "Suprabal Jana Sewa Shree", a national decoration awarded by the Right Honorable President of Nepal in recognition of distinguished public service in 2021. He also received "Nijamati Sewa Puraskar" (Civil Service Award) from the Government of Nepal in 2015.

Ambassador Thapa holds a Master's in Diplomacy from Lancaster University (UK) and a Master's in Public Administration from Tribhuvan University (Nepal). He has also received specialized diplomatic training in Nepal, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States.