US-based Nepali lawyer Khagendra GC has been elected the vice president of the Socialist International, an umbrella ogranisation of the world’s centre-left parties.

The general convention of the organisation held on November 25-27 in Madrid, Spain, also unanimously elected Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as the organisation’s new president.

GC and Ved Prasad Kharel had participated in the conference on behalf of the Nepali Congress representing Nepal.

GC had participated as former chairman of the United States-chapter of the Nepali Congress’ Nepali Public Relations Committee, while Kharel had participated in the convention as a former general committee member and joint-coordinator of the US-chapter of the Nepali Congress’ public relations committee.

Nepali Congress has been a member of the Socialist International, a common body of socialists worldwide, for a long time. The late Nepali Congress leader and former prime minister BP Koirala, and the party’s current president Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had earlier served as the vice-president of the organisation.

To ensure geographical and gender balance, the organisation can have additional 36 vice-presidents. A total of 45 members were nominated among which eight were from the Middle-East and the Asia Pacific region. The Socialist International previously had 31 vice-presidents, but the number was increased to 36 through an amendment to its statute.

Sanchez, 50, succeeded George Papandreou, former prime minister of Greece, to take the top role in the 132-member organisation. The convention witnessed participation of 350 people from 117 countries.

Benedicta Lasi also became the Socialist Internationals first female and black president.

Former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres led the organisation before becoming the head of the UN refugee agency in 2005. He later became the UN secretary general in 2017.

At the convention, GC and Ved Prasad Kharel spoke on the role of the Nepali Congress, gender equality and socialist economic growth.