Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (December 28, 1945 - June 1, 2001) was king of Nepal from 1972 until 2001, and the son of King Mahendra, whom he succeeded.
Educated at premier institutes in Europe, Asia, and America, including the elite Eton College and Harvard University, he traveled a great deal before ascending the throne.
He was more open to parliamentary democracy than his father, and restored it after a referendum in 1990. However, the quarrels between various political parties and numerous social problems caused a Maoist rebellion called the Nepalese People's War, which has been escalating since 1996. Nepal's stability was threatened even more when he and most of his family (including Queen Aiswarya) were killed by his oldest son and heir, Dipendra.
