A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prachanda on Wednesday endorsed the names of Poudyal and Ram Karki, both Maoist supporters, as Nepalese ambassadors to India and France [Images] respectively, according to the cabinet sources.

However, these names have to be cleared by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee before they could assume the respective offices.

Poudyal, 54, who is replacing outgoing ambassador Durgesh Man Singh, is an economist like his predecessor. Born in Jitdeurali village in Lamjung district in western Nepal, Poudyal served as headmaster at a village school in Nuwakot district for 22 years, officials said.

Poudyal was arrested and imprisoned for one year in 2003 when the Maoist insurgency reached its climax. The post of the Nepalese ambassador to India was vacant for the past 4-5 months after the Maoist government recalled Singh, a Nepali Congress choice.