Nepal’s president has appointed former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki as interim prime minister. President Ram Chandra Poudel also has dissolved parliament and set elections for March 5. Karki is the first woman to head the South Asian country’s government. The changes follow massive protests that caused the collapse of the previous administration. Karki was sworn in Friday. She was a popular figure while serving as the court’s only female chief justice in 2016 and 2017. Street demonstrations that began Monday in Kathmandu over a social media ban turned violent and  prompted the resignation of the previous prime minister.

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"Gen Z" leaders and others raise their hands with former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki, center, after she was sworn in as interim prime minister at the presidential residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)

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Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki, right, greets Nepalese President Ram Chandra Poudel after taking the oath as interim prime minister during a ceremony at the presidential residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)

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Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki attends her swearing-in ceremony as interim prime minister at the presidential residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)

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In this photo provided by the Nepalese President House, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki, right, is administered the oath of office by Nepalese President Ram Chandra Poudel, center, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, following protests that collapsed the previous administration. (Nepalese President House via AP)

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Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki leaves the president's residence after she was appointed as interim prime minister following protests that collapsed the previous administration in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

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University students display an inflatable doll of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro wearing prisoner garb in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, the morning after the Supreme Court convicted and sentenced him to prison for attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)