Veteran Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala was a politician of the mould of Indira Gandhi who in his career spanning six-decades outwitted many opponents ranging from monarchs to guerrilla-turned politicians.
A strong votary of maintaining close ties with India, Koirala saw it all -- from his struggle as a trade union leader to don the mantle of prime ministership, to confront Nepal's monarchs.
But the 85-year-old could not fulfil his secret dream of making his daughter Sujata Koirala Nepal's first woman prime minister though he brought her to a sniffing distance.
His death came at a critical time for his Himalayan homeland which is at a crossroads to frame a new roadmap to democracy.
Towards the end of his chequered career, Koirala was making a fervent bid to upstage firebrand Maoist leader Prachanda.
But the high mark of his career was to broker the peace deal that ended Nepal's decade-long civil war.
Koirala was president of the Nepali Congress party and spearheaded the mass demonstrations in 2006 that forced then King Gyanendra to give up his authoritarian rule, reinstate parliament and appoint Koirala as interim prime minister.
But soon after that Koirala stripped Gyanendra of all his powers and command of the army, a move that was vehemently resisted by the king.
Gyanendra was finally dethroned, bringing an end to the 240-year-old monarchy in May 2008. Soon after that, Koirala quit as prime minister to allow a new coalition government led by former Maoist rebels to take power.
Koirala played a key role in the 2006 peace process that ended of Maoists-led insurgency and paved the way for them to join mainstream politics.
India-born Koirala, an alumini of Delhi University's Kirori Mal College, worked ardently for establishing and maintaining close and cordial ties between Kathmandu and New Delhi.
He was among the few Nepalese leaders who went to jail during Mahatama Gandhi's Quit India Movement in 1942.
Koirala fiercely opposed attempts by hardline Nepalese politicians to whip up anti-India hysteria and forge closer ties with its other giant neighbour China.
Koirala was the architect of many crucial pacts between India and Nepal ranging from cooperation in political fields to economic ties.
He emerged from the shadows of his elder brother BP Koirala, who also was a staunch supporter of close ties, to lead his first coalition government in 1991.
A five-time prime minister, Koirala headed the country's biggest party Nepali Congress and actively participated in the dramatic transition from monarchy to democracy and saw the abolition of monarchy in 2008.
Viewed by many as Nepal's answer to Gandhis and Bhuttos - the other dominant political dynasties of India and Pakistan -- Koirala had a strong Indian connection.
He was born in 1925 in Saharsa, Bihar, where his family was in exile. In a career spanning over-six decades, he was the country's prime minister from 1991 to 1994, 1998 to 1999 and 2000 to 2001 and 2006-2008. He was acting head of the interim government in May 2008.
He took part in the Indian freedom struggle and the historic Nepalese revolution against the Rana regime by organising the first labour movement in his hometown Biratnagar's jute mill in 1947-48.
He founded the Nepal Trade Union Congress in 1948. Later, in 1952, he became the President of the Morang district chapter of the Nepal Congress.
In 1959 his brother BP Koirala and the Nepali Congress swept the country's first democratic election. But the government was sacked by King Mahendra in 1960 who arrested Koirala.
Koirala spent seven years in jail until he was exiled to India in 1968. He returned to Nepal in 1979 with the "Programme of National Reconciliation" propounded by BP Koirala.
In 1991 he became the first democratically elected prime minister of Nepal since 1959 following the 'Jana Aandolan' or public protest against the monarch.
In November 1994 he called for the dissolution of parliament and general elections after losing a government sponsored vote of confidence. This led to the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist)-led coalition coming to power in the elections that followed.
Koirala took over as prime minister from Surya Bahadur Thapa following the collapse of the coalition government and headed a minority government until December 25, 1998 after which he headed a three-party coalition government with the CPN(UML) and the Nepal Sadhbhawana Party.
Koirala became Prime Minister in 2000 for his third term following the resignation of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, under whose leadership the party had won the parliamentary election.
Koirala resigned in July 2001 amid raging Maoists militancy and was replaced by Sher Bahadur Deuba by his party.
But Deuba was sacked by Gyanendra who, after appointing a number of handpicked prime ministers, imposed absolute rule in 2005.
Following the promulgation of the interim constitution, Koirala, as the prime minister, became the interim head of state of Nepal. He oversaw the 2006 peace deal that saw the Maoists end their decade-long armed struggle against the monarchy and join political mainstream.
Though accused by many of being a royalist for opposing the abolition of monarchy and suggesting that the king be made the head of state, Koirala finally chose to move with the tide. Following the April 2008 elections, the Constituent Assembly was elected which voted to declare Nepal a republic on May 28.
Koirala's Nepali Congress was, however, dealt a major blow in the elections as it bagged just 110 seat in a 601-member house, coming a distant second to Maoists (229).
Amid some hard bargaining, the Nepali Congress proposed that Koirala become the first President of Nepal, but it was shot down by the Maoists.
His passing away came as he was all set to confront the biggest challenge of his life, to revamp his party for what appears to be an inevitable do or die battle with the Maoists.
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