Biography 
Prativa Rana, central committee member of the National Democratic Party (Rastriya Prajatantra Party, or RPP) of Nepal from 1991 to the present, has been active as a politician, social worker, and civil society leader for over two decades. She is a founder and vice chair of the Inter Party Women Alliance (IPWA) and a former state minister for the Ministry of Science and Technology, a position she held from July 2004 to February 2005. She was vice chair of the National Women Commission from 2002 to 2004. As central committee member of RPP (she was re-elected for a 3rd term in December 2002), Ms. Rana serves as board member of the Parliamentary Committee and coordinator of the NGO Coordination Division. In this role, she has also acted as coordinator for the RPP Foreign Division and coordinated five districts of Western Nepal. She has attended many international conferences and seminars, including the 51st United Nations General Assembly meeting.Ms. Rana earned a bachelor’s degree from Tribhuwan University in 1966. Ms. Rana also taught for two years at St. Mary’s High School in Katmandu, where she herself attended school. She was awarded the Coronation Medal in 1975; the 3rd South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit Medal in 1988; and His Majesty King Bihendra’s Golden Jubilee medal in 1996. Ms. Rana served as a volunteer in the social service sector from 1980 to 1990. She began at the grassroots level, and served in her highest position – president of the Women’s Service Coordination Committee – from 1985 to 1989. (1.2007)