KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has appointed Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker Yogesh Bhattarai as a new Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Wednesday.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed minister amid a ceremony at the former's office in Sheetal Niwas around 4:20 pm.

The Ministry was sans leadership since the then minister Rabindra Adhikari was killed in a chopper crash in Taplejung district on February 27.