Ram Saran Mahat

Early life and education Mahat was born on 1 January 1951 in Kalibas, Nuwakot District, Nepal, to Khadga Bahadur Mahat and Tol Kumari Mahat. He completed his School Leaving Certificate in 1964 and earned a master's degree in economics from Tribhuvan University in 1972, receiving a university gold medal. Following the restoration of multiparty democracy in Nepal in 1990, he left the organization to enter electoral politics. The plan was implemented amid political instability and contributed to a period of moderate economic growth alongside liberalization measures such as tariff reforms and privatization.

He was first elected to the House of Representatives from Nuwakot 2 in the 1994 general election and subsequently represented the constituency for multiple terms. He later became a member of both the First and Second Nepalese Constituent Assemblies and was re-elected from Nuwakot–2 in the 2013 Constituent Assembly election.

Mahat served as Minister of Finance on several occasions and was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2000.

From 1993 to 1995, Mahat served on the Board of Trustees of the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand.

Personal life Mahat is married to Roshana Mahat and has two children. His younger brother, Prakash Sharan Mahat, is also a Nepali Congress politician.

Publications Mahat is the author of In Defence of Democracy: Dynamics and Fault Lines of Nepal's Political Economy (2005) and Trials, Tremors and Hope (2019).