List of heads of state of Afghanistan Heads of state of Afghanistan since the first Afghan state from 1709
This article lists the heads of state of Afghanistan since the foundation of the first modern Afghan state, the Hotak Empire , in 1709.
History
The Hotak Empire was formed after a successful uprising led by Mirwais Hotak and other Afghan tribal chiefs from the Kandahar region against Mughal and Safavid Persian rule.[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
After a long series of wars, the Hotak Empire was eventually replaced by the Durrani Afghan Empire , founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747.[ 4] [ 5]
After the collapse of the Durrani Empire in 1823, the Barakzai dynasty founded the Emirate of Kabul, later known as the Emirate of Afghanistan . The Durrani dynasty regained power in 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War , when former ruler Shah Shujah Durrani seized the throne under the British auspices. Shah Shujah was assassinated in 1842, following the British retreat . Afterwards the Barakzai dynasty regained power, eventually transformed the Emirate into the Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1926, and ruled the country (with an interruption in 1929 ) until the last king, Mohammad Zahir Shah , was deposed in the 1973 coup d'état , led by his first cousin Mohammad Daoud Khan . Despite being part of the Barakzai dynasty, Daoud Khan departed from tradition and did not proclaim himself Shah , instead abolished the monarchy and established the Republic of Afghanistan , with himself as President .[ 6] [ 7] The Republic lasted until the PDPA –led Saur Revolution in 1978.[ 8]
Since 1978, Afghanistan has been in a state of continuous internal conflict and foreign interventions .[ 9] [ 10]
President Hamid Karzai became the first ever democratically elected head of state of Afghanistan on 7 December 2004. His successor, Ashraf Ghani , was in power from 29 September 2014 to 15 August 2021, when he fled the country as Kabul fell to the Taliban following its 2021 offensive .[ 11]
Upon its recapture of Kabul, the Taliban reinstated the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan , and its supreme leader since 2016, Islamic scholar Hibatullah Akhundzada , de facto succeeded Ghani as head of state.[ 12]
List of heads of state
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
Monarchs
Hotak Empire (1709–1738)
Durrani Empire (1747–1823)
Name Lifespan Reign start Reign end Notes Family Image Ahmad Shah Durrani 1720/1722 – 4 June 1772 June 1747 4 June 1772 Established the Durrani dynasty and the Durrani Empire ; Considered founder of modern Afghanistan Sadozai (Durrani) Timur Shah Durrani December 1746 – 20 May 1793 November 1772 20 May 1793 Son of Ahmad Shah Durrani Preserved the Durrani Empire following the death of his father after fighting off civil war in 1772, and multiple rebellions Durrani Zaman Shah Durrani 1770–1844 20 May 1793 25 July 1801(deposed ) Son of Timur Shah Durrani Engaged in civil war with his brothers after the death of his father, later being deposed Durrani Mahmud Shah Durrani (1st reign ) 1769 – 18 April 1829 25 July 1801 13 July 1803(deposed ) Son of Timur Shah Durrani Engaged in civil war with his brothers after the death of his father, later being deposed Durrani Shah Shujah Durrani (1st reign ) Inayat-i-llahi, Shuja ul-Mulk, Muhammad Bahadur 4 November 1785 – 5 April 1842 13 July 1803 3 May 1809(deposed ) Son of Timur Shah Durrani Engaged in civil war with his brothers after the death of his father, later being deposed, and making multiple attempts to reclaim his throne Durrani Mahmud Shah Durrani (2nd reign ) 1769 – 18 April 1829 3 May 1809 1818(deposed ) Son of Timur Shah Durrani Exiled to Herat following his deposition during his second reign Durrani Ali Shah Durrani Died 1818/1819 1818 1819(deposed ) Son of Timur Shah Durrani Durrani Ayub Shah Durrani Died 1 October 1837 1819 1823(deposed ) Son of Timur Shah Durrani Durrani
Emirate of Kabul / Emirate of Afghanistan (1823–1926)
Name Lifespan Reign start Reign end Notes Family Image Sultan Mohammad Khan 1792–1834 1823 1826(deposed ) First ruler of the Barakzai dynasty ; Son of Sardar Payendah Khan, brother of Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai Dost Mohammad Khan (1st reign ) Amir al-Mu'minin, Amir-i Kabir 23 December 1792 – 9 June 1863 Summer 1826 6 August 1839(deposed ) Son of Sardar Payendah Khan Forged campaigns to re-unite Afghanistan which was divided due to the civil wars between the sons of Timur Shah Durrani. Reign disputed from 1839–1842 by Shah Shujah Durrani in the First Anglo-Afghan War Barakzai Shah Shujah Durrani (2nd reign ) Inayat-i-llahi, Shuja ul-Mulk, Muhammad Bahadur 4 November 1785 – 5 April 1842 7 August 1839 5 April 1842 Son of Timur Shah Durrani Returned to the throne with the help of the British in the First Anglo-Afghan War, murdered in the aftermath of the 1842 retreat from Kabul Durrani Akbar Khan Amīr Akbar Khān, Mohammad Akbar Khān 1816–1847 May 1842 1843 Son of Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai Dost Mohammad Khan (2nd reign ) Amir al-Mu'minin, Amir-i Kabir 23 December 1792 – 9 June 1863 1843 9 June 1863 Son of Sardar Payendah Khan Returned to the throne after the British and Shah Shuja were defeated in the First Anglo-Afghan War. Coined the term "Afghanistan" after an alliance with the British. Went on to defeat the remaining powers inside Afghanistan[ note 1] , reunifying the country after a brutal civil war lasting 70 years from 1793–1863 by the time of his death Barakzai Sher Ali Khan (1st reign ) 1825 – 21 February 1879 9 June 1863 May 1866(deposed ) Son of Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai Mohammad Afzal Khan 1815 – 7 October 1867 May 1866 7 October 1867 Son of Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai Mohammad Azam Khan 1820–1870 7 October 1867 21 August 1868 Son of Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai Sher Ali Khan (2nd reign ) 1825 – 21 February 1879 9 September 1868 21 February 1879 Son of Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai Mohammad Yaqub Khan 1849 – 15 November 1923 21 February 1879 12 October 1879(deposed ) Son of Sher Ali Khan Deposed during the Second Anglo-Afghan War Barakzai Ayub Khan 1857 – 7 April 1914 12 October 1879 31 May 1880(deposed ) Son of Sher Ali Khan Defeated in the Battle of Kandahar and exiled at the end of the Second Anglo-Afghan War Barakzai Abdur Rahman Khan 1840/44 – 1 October 1901 31 May 1880 1 October 1901 Son of Mohammad Afzal Khan Barakzai Habibullah Khan 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919 1 October 1901 20 February 1919 Son of Abdur Rahman Khan Barakzai Nasrullah Khan 1874–1920 20 February 1919 28 February 1919(deposed ) Son of Abdur Rahman Khan Barakzai Amanullah Khan 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960 28 February 1919 9 June 1926 Son of Habibullah Khan Barakzai
Kingdom of Afghanistan (1926–1929)
Name Lifespan Reign start Reign end Notes Family Image Amanullah Khan 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960 9 June 1926 14 January 1929(abdicated ) Son of Habibullah Khan Barakzai Inayatullah Khan 20 October 1888 – 12 August 1946 14 January 1929 17 January 1929(deposed ) Son of Habibullah Khan Barakzai
Saqqawist Emirate and the 1928–1929 civil war
Name Lifespan Reign start Reign end Notes Family Image Habibullāh Kalakāni 19 January 1891 – 3 November 1929 17 January 1929 [ note 2] 13 October 1929 Styled as king and emir [ note 3] ; contested the throne during the 1928–29 civil war;[ 18] deposed and executed[ 19] Non-dynastic Ali Ahmad Khan 1883 – 11 July 1929 17 January 1929 9 February 1929 Grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan (maternal) Styled as King; rose in opposition to Kalakāni during the 1928–29 civil war; captured and executed Barakzai Amanullah Khan 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960 March 1929 23 May 1929 Son of Habibullah Khan Former King; returned to Afghanistan to contest the throne during the 1928–29 civil war; eventually retreated back into British India ;[ 20] See also Amanullah loyalism Barakzai
Kingdom of Afghanistan (restored; 1929–1973)
Local monarchs
Some rulers tried to take advantage of internal conflicts in Afghanistan to claim the throne. However, their rule was limited only to certain areas.
Non-monarchs
Name
Portrait
Lifespan
Term of office
Political affiliation
Took office
Left office
Time in office
Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)
Mohammad Daoud Khan
1909–1978
17 July 1973
28 April 1978
4 years, 285 days
Independent (until 1974)
National Revolutionary Party
President ; Member of the Barakzai dynasty (first cousin of Mohammed Zahir Shah); Assassinated with most of his family during the Saur Revolution ;[ 23] Supposedly killed for refusing to surrender to the new authorities.[ 24] [ 8] [ 25]
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992)
Colonel Abdul Qadir
1944–2014
28 April 1978
30 April 1978
2 days
People's Democratic Party (Khalq faction)
Chairman of the Presidium of the Military Revolutionary Council .
Nur Muhammad Taraki
1917–1979
30 April 1978
14 September 1979
1 year, 137 days
People's Democratic Party (Khalq faction)
Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council ; Assassinated by orders of Hafizullah Amin .
Hafizullah Amin
1929–1979
14 September 1979
27 December 1979
104 days
People's Democratic Party (Khalq faction)
Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council; Assassinated by Soviet special forces during the Operation Storm-333 .[ 26]
Babrak Karmal
1929–1996
27 December 1979
24 November 1986
6 years, 332 days
People's Democratic Party (Parcham faction)
Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council; Dismissed.
Haji Mohammad Chamkani
1947–2012
24 November 1986
30 September 1987
310 days
Independent
Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council; Appointed as part of the National Reconciliation process.
Mohammad Najibullah
1947–1996
30 September 1987
16 April 1992
4 years, 199 days
People's Democratic Party (Parcham faction) (until 1990)
Homeland Party
President (Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council until 30 November 1987); Resigned.
Abdul Rahim Hatif
1926–2013
16 April 1992
28 April 1992
12 days
Homeland Party
Acting President; Deposed.
Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–2002)
Sibghatullah Mojaddedi
1926–2019
28 April 1992
28 June 1992
61 days
National Liberation Front of Afghanistan
Acting President; Resigned.
Burhanuddin Rabbani
1940–2011
28 June 1992
22 December 2001
9 years, 177 days
Jamiat-e Islami
President; Fled Kabul following its fall to the Taliban on 27 September 1996;[ 27] Continued to serve as president in areas controlled by the Northern Alliance during the 1996–2001 Civil War until being fully reinstated following the recapture of Kabul on 13 November 2001; Between 1996 and 2001, the Islamic State remained the internationally recognized government, despite only controlling about 10% of Afghan territory.
Hamid Karzai
born 1957
22 December 2001
13 July 2002
203 days
Independent
Chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration ; Appointed by the 2001 Bonn Conference .[ 28]
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)
Mullah Mohammed Omar
between 1953 and 1966[ 29] – 2013
27 September 1996
13 November 2001
5 years, 47 days
Taliban
Supreme Leader ; Deposed during the fall of Kabul ,[ 30] and went into hiding following the fall of Kandahar on 7 December 2001;[ 31] [ 32] Continued to claim the position in rebellion during the Taliban insurgency until his death on 23 April 2013; Between 1996 and 2001, the Islamic Emirate never attained widespread international recognition , despite controlling about 90% of Afghan territory .
Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (2002–2004)
Hamid Karzai
born 1957
13 July 2002
7 December 2004
2 years, 147 days
Independent
Transitional President; Appointed by the 2002 loya jirga .
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)
Hamid Karzai
born 1957
7 December 2004
29 September 2014
9 years, 296 days
Independent
President; First democratically elected head of state; Elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2009 .
Ashraf Ghani
born 1949
29 September 2014
15 August 2021
6 years, 320 days
Independent
President; First peaceful transition of power ; Elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2019 ; Deposed during the fall of Kabul .
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (2021–present)
Mullah Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada
Birth date not known
15 August 2021[ 12]
Incumbent
3 years, 158 days
Taliban
Supreme Leader; Claimed the position in rebellion during the Taliban insurgency from 25 May 2016 until the recapture of Kabul . The Islamic Emirate is currently not internationally recognized , despite controlling all Afghan territory.[ 33]
Family tree of monarchs
Family tree of Afghan monarchs
Timeline from 1880
Standards of heads of state
Standard of the king of Afghanistan,
c. 1919–1929
Standard of the king of Afghanistan,
1931–1973 .
Standard of the president of Afghanistan,
1974–1978 .
Standard of the president of Afghanistan,
2004–2013 .
Standard of the president of Afghanistan,
2013–2021 .
See also
Notes
References
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^ Malleson, George Bruce (1878). History of Afghanistan, from the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 . London: Elibron.com. p. 227. ISBN 1-4021-7278-8 . Retrieved 27 September 2010 .
^ "Afghanistan" . The World Factbook . Central Intelligence Agency . Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2010 . Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747.
^ "Last Afghan empire" . Louis Dupree , Nancy Hatch Dupree and others . Encyclopædia Britannica Online Version. Retrieved 24 September 2010 .
^ a b "Afghan King Overthrown; A Republic Is Proclaimed" . The New York Times . 18 July 1973. Retrieved 3 May 2020 .
^ Barfield, Thomas (25 March 2012). Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History (Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics) . Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691154411 .
^ a b William Borders (28 April 1978). "Coup Is Reported in Afghanistan" . The New York Times . Retrieved 3 August 2021 .
^ "A Look At Afghanistan's 40 Years Of Crisis — From The Soviet War To Taliban Recapture" . NPR . 31 August 2021.
^ "Instability in Afghanistan" . Global Conflict Tracker . Retrieved 23 April 2023 .
^ "President Ashraf Ghani flees Afghanistan as Taliban enters Kabul" . South China Morning Post . Reuters. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021 .
^ a b
^ Qassem, Dr Ahmad Shayeq (28 March 2013). Afghanistan's Political Stability: A Dream Unrealised . Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 175. ISBN 9781409499428 .
^ Wazir, Azmatullah Khan (2002). The immediate solution of Afghan crisis . A.K. Wazir. p. 8.
^ Muḥammad, Fayz̤; McChesney, R. D. (1999). Kabul under siege: Fayz Muhammad's account of the 1929 Uprising . Markus Wiener Publishers. p. 37. ISBN 9781558761544 .
^ "ExecutedToday.com » 1929: Habibullah Kalakani, Tajik bandit-king" . 1 November 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2019 .
^ Muḥammad, Fayz̤; Hazārah, Fayz̤ Muḥammad Kātib; Muḥammad, Faiḍ (1999). Kabul Under Siege: Fayz Muhammad's Account of the 1929 Uprising . Markus Wiener Publishers. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-55876-155-1 .
^ "Rebel Becomes King in Afghanistan" . The New York Times . 18 January 1929. Retrieved 3 August 2021 .
^ "Afghan Usurper Yields to New King" . The New York Times . 24 October 1929. Retrieved 3 August 2021 .
^ "Amanullah Hungry in Flight to India" . The New York Times . 26 May 1929. Retrieved 3 August 2021 .
^ "Nadir Khan is Elected Amir of Afghanistan" . The New York Times . 18 October 1929. Retrieved 3 August 2021 .
^ "King of Afghanistan Is Slain at Kabul; Stable Boy Won Throne by Military Skill" . The New York Times . 9 November 1933. Retrieved 3 August 2021 .
^ "There was, therefore, little to hinder the assault mounted by the rebel 4th Armored Brigade, led by Major Mohammad Aslam Watanjar , who had also been prominent in Daoud's own coup five years before. Watanjar first secured the airport, where the other coup leader, Colonel Abdul Qadir, left by helicopter for the Bagram air base . There he took charge and organized air strikes on the presidential palace , where Daoud and the presidential guard were conducting a desperate defense. Fighting continued the whole day and into the night, when the defenders were finally overwhelmed. Daoud and almost all of his family members, including women and children, died in the fighting. Altogether there were possibly as many as two thousand fatalities, both military and civilian." p. 88 of Ewans, Martin (2002) Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics HarperCollins, New York, Page 88 ISBN 0-06-050507-9
^ "1978: Afghan coup rebels claim victory" . 29 April 1978 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
^ Ghaus, Abdul Samad (1988). The fall of Afghanistan: an insider's account . Washington: Pergamon-Brassey's Intern. Defense Publ. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-08-034701-1 .
^ "How Soviet troops stormed Kabul palace" . BBC. 27 December 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2021 .
^ "Afghan Fundamentalists Sweep Into Kabul" . The New York Times . 27 September 1996. Retrieved 30 March 2022 .
^ "Bonn Agreement" (PDF) . United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs . 5 December 2001. Retrieved 30 June 2022 .
^ "Security Council 1988 Committee Amends 105 Entries on Its Sanctions List | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases" . www.un.org . Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2021 .
^ David S. Rohde with Dexter Filkins (13 November 2001). "Taliban Troops Abandon Capital Without a Fight" . The New York Times . Retrieved 30 March 2022 .
^ David S. Rohde with Norimitsu Onishi (8 December 2001). "TALIBAN ABANDON LAST STRONGHOLD; OMAR IS NOT FOUND" . The New York Times . Retrieved 4 November 2022 .
^ Dam, Bette (2019). "The Secret Life of Mullah Omar" (PDF) . Zomia Center. Retrieved 29 June 2022 .
^ Trofimov, Yaroslav (13 September 2021). "As Taliban Seek International Acceptance, Countries Seek to Engage—but Stop Short of Recognition" . Wall Street Journal . ISSN 0099-9660 . Retrieved 20 September 2021 .
External links