Ashok Raj Sigdel
General Ashok Raj Sigdel is a Nepalese military officer who serves as the present Chief of the Army Staff of the Nepalese Army. He took the oath from the President of Nepal on 9 September 2024. He succeeded General Prabhu Ram Sharma. Sigdel was conferred as the honorary General of the Indian Army by the Indian President Droupadi Murmu.
Sigdel was born on 1 February 1967, in Rupandehi. He was commissioned into the Nepal Army in 1987. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Army Command and Staff College in Shivapuri and from China's National Defense University. Additionally, he has completed the Higher and Management Course at the Army War College and the Defense Management Course in India. He also holds a master's degree in strategic studies from China's National Defense University and an MA from Tribhuvan University. General Sigdel has previously served in key senior staff appointments, including Director of the Directorate of Military Operations, Director General of the Department of Staff Duties, Policy & Plans, Inspector General, Master General of Ordnance, Acting Chief of Staff and Chief of General Staff. He has served in former Yugoslavia, Tajikistan, and Liberia as part of UN Peacekeeping Operations.General Sigdel, is also an alumnus of several prestigious military institutions, having completed the Army Command & Staff Course and Higher Command & Management Course from Nepal, Defence Management Course from India and National Defence College from China. He holds master's degree in Political Science and Strategic Studies.