Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was the king of Nepal from 2001 to 2008. He became the 12th king of Nepal after his elder brother King Birendra was assassinated in a shooting incident that killed most of his family members. Gyanendra was absent when the incident occurred at a dinner party held at the ‘Narayanhiti Royal Palace’ in Kathmandu. The eldest son of King Birendra Crown Prince Dipendra is said to have carried out the massacre and got grievously injured in the massacre which took place on June 1, 2001. Gyanendra became the King of Nepal after crown Prince Dipendra, died a few days later of gunshot wounds. Gyanedra’s rule was marked by a civil war which erupted between the government and Maoist guerilla forces led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal or Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai The civil war lasted from 1996 to 2006. During this time he dissolved the parliament and took over the reins of the government into his own hands. After the cessation of hostilities he was forced to hold elections which were won by an alliance of seven political parties. He had to relinquish power when the parliament (comprising of the seven party alliance) abolished the monarchy and transformed it into a democratic republic.