Nepal Ratna Girija Prasad Koirala ( ; 4 July 1924 – 20 March 2010), affectionately known as Girija Babu, was a Nepalese politician. He headed the Nepali Congress and served as the Prime Minister of Nepal on four occasions, including from 1991 to 1994, 1998 to 1999, 2000 to 2001, and from 2006 to 2008. He was the Acting Head of State of Nepal between January 2007 and July 2008 as the country transitioned from a monarchy to a republic. Koirala, who was active in politics for over sixty years, was a pioneer of the Nepalese labour movement, having started the first political workers' movement on Nepalese soil, known as the Biratnagar jute mill strike in his hometown, Biratnagar. In 1991 he became the first democratically elected Prime Minister since 1959, when his brother B.P. Koirala and the Nepali Congress party were swept into power in the country's first democratic election. Personal life Koirala was born in Saharsa, Bihar, British India, in 1924 into a Hill Brahmin family. His father, Krishna Prasad Koirala, was a Nepali living in exile. In 1952 Koirala married Sushma Koirala, headmistress at the local school for women in Biratnagar. Their daughter Sujata Koirala was born in 1953. Sushma died in a kerosene stove explosion in 1967. He along with his daughter Sujata were followers of the Indian spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba. Koirala belonged to one of Nepal's most prominent political families. Two of his brothers were prime ministers: Matrika Prasad Koirala from 1951 to 1952 and 1953 to 1955, and Bisheshwar Prasad Koirala from 1959 until King Mahendra took over the government in December 1960. Bisheshwar Prasad and Girija Prasad were arrested and later sent to prison. With other leaders of the Nepali Congress Party (NCP), Girija Prasad went into exile after his release in 1967 and didn't return to Nepal until 1979. Political career Koirala became involved in politics in 1947, leading the Biratnagar jute mill strike In 1948 Koirala founded the Nepal Mazdoor Congress, later known as the Nepal Trade Union Congress-Independent. Later, in 1952, he became the President of the Morang District Nepali Congress and held that office until he was arrested and imprisoned by King Mahendra following the 1960 royal coup. Upon his release in 1967, Koirala, along with other leaders and workers of the party, was exiled to India until his return to Nepal in 1979. Koirala was General