Sagar S.J.B. Rana was born in 1938 in Baber Mahal. His forefathers had been in the premier position of governance since 1947 and until the fall of the regime in 1951. He was the first Nepali to attain a bachelor’s degree (in Jurisprudence) from Oxford University in 1960. When he returned to Nepal in 1963, political parties were banned and political leaders, including his two brothers, were either imprisoned or exiled to India.
There was no space for political activities till mid-1970s when B.P Koirala returned from exile in India proclaiming a new policy of National Reconciliation. The author joined the tumultuous political arena and Nepali Congress thereafter.
Serving the party first as President of Lalitpur District, then as member of the Central Working Committee and finally as Head of the Department of International relations including the critical years 2003–06, Rana was actively involved in the movements for restoration of democracy as well as confrontation with the Maoists and the process of their integration in the parliamentary mainstream.
The author is also the Founding President of the Handicraft Association of Nepal (1968) and the first recipient (2016) of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Currently, he is the Acting President of Nepal Art Council. He also excelled in tennis and was national champion in 1968–69.