Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who led a revolutionary insurrection that claimed 13,000 lives over 10 years, was elected prime minister of Nepal on Friday night, becoming the first Maoist to lead a democratic government.

The election of Mr Dahal – who used the nom de guerre Comrade Prachanda (”the Fierce One”) – follows four months of political wrangling as the Maoists struggled to garner sufficient support from other parties to form a government, and even gave up at one point after their rivals united to elect a president opposed by the party.