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Mahendra's state visit to the USA

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King Mahendra of Nepal had a state visit to the United States of America in 1960 and 1967. In the first visit, he went to Washington, Honolulu, New York City, Knoxville, Salem and Eugene, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Dallas, Miami, and Detroit. In the second visit, he went to Williamsburg, Cape Kennedy, New York City and a hunting trip in Alaska.[1]

First visit

Elvis Presley entertains King Mahendra and Queen Ratna of Nepal on a movie set (11 May 1960)

The first state visit to the USA was made in 27–30 April 1960. King Mahendra was accompanied by the Queen Ratna. They were received by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.[2][3]

Background

In June 1958, King Mahendra agreed to accept Soviet economic aid and asked to sign an agreement for assistance and technicians. The visit to USA would be a gesture to resist the aid. The king had also mentioned a visit to USA to the US officials. Based on the request from the state secretary, an official invitation was extended for a state visit.[4]

Activities

Between 27 and 30 April 1960, Mahendra was in Washington. He addressed the joint session of the U.S. Congress in April 28.[5] In the meeting between the President and the King, they discussed about lasting peace and international justice. And both agreed to strengthen the bilateral relationship.[6]

After Washington, a twelve-day coast-to-coast tour of the United States started.[6] They travelled to Honolulu in Hawaii.[7] He went to New York City, and visited Disneyland where he was hosted by Walt Disney. Later, he visited Knoxville in Tennessee, Salem and Eugene in Oregon, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Albuquerque in New Mexico, Dallas in Texas, Miami, and Detroit in Michigan.

While returning from America, he also visited Mexico (on 16–18 May 1960) and Canada (on 25–28 May 1960).

Second visit

The second visit was made in 1–3 November 1967. The royal couple was greeted by the President Lyndon B Johnson and Mrs. Johnson in Washington DC in 1967.[8] The royal couple of Nepal was greeted with the 'guard of honor'.[9] The king and the president discussed about the foreign affairs and agreed to support the efforts of the United Nations.[10] After the state visit, the king went to Williamsburg, Cape Kennedy, and New York City. He also went for a hunting trip in Alaska.[11]

Further reading

  • Memorandum From the Acting Secretary of State to the President regarding visit of 1960. [1]
  • Official speech made by the US president and King Mahendra in 1960. [2]
  • Speech by President Johnson. [3]

References

  1. ^ "Nepal - Visits by Foreign Leaders - Department History - Office of the Historian". Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. ^ South Asia and the Strategic Indian Ocean: A Bibliographic Survey of Literature. U.S. Government Printing Office, United States Department of Defense. 1973.
  3. ^ "Nepal US Relations – Embassy of Nepal, Washington DC, USA". Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  4. ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, South and Southeast Asia, Volume XV - Office of the Historian". Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  5. ^ "Nepal's Cabinet Is Ousted by King – Mahendra Seizes Ministers as 'Anti-Nationalists' and Dissolves Parliament". The New York Times. 1960-12-16. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  6. ^ a b "Joint Statement Following Discussions With King Mahendra. | The American Presidency Project". Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  7. ^ "The Honolulu Advertiser from Honolulu, Hawaii on April 25, 1960 · 2". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  8. ^ "King and Queen of Nepal Are Greeted by Johnson". The New York Times. 1967-11-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  9. ^ "Late King Mahendra and Queen's visit to USA in 1967". Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  10. ^ Dahal, Ram Kumar (2018). "The need of change in contemporary Nepalese foreign policy". Journal of Political Science. 18: 82–113. doi:10.3126/jps.v18i0.20442. ISSN 2362-1273.
  11. ^ Reamer, David (October 18, 2021). "No expense was too great when royalty came to Alaska in 1967. Then the king of Nepal skipped out on the bill". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
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