Salahuddin Rabbani

Salahuddin Rabbani
Rabbani in 2012
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan
In office
1 February 2015 – 23 October 2019
PresidentAshraf Ghani
Preceded byAhmad Moqbel Zarar
Succeeded byIdrees Zaman (acting)
Chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council
In office
15 April 2012 – 1 February 2015
PresidentHamid Karzai
Ashraf Ghani
Preceded byBurhanuddin Rabbani
Succeeded byAhmed Gailani
Ambassador of Afghanistan to Turkey
In office
1 January 2011 – 14 April 2012
PresidentHamid Karzai
Preceded byMassoud Khalili
Succeeded byAmanullah Jayhoon
Personal details
Born (1971-05-10) 10 May 1971 (age 53)
Kabul, Afghanistan
Political partyJamiat-e Islami
Children5
Parent
Alma materKingston University, Columbia University
ProfessionDiplomat

Salāhuddīn Rabbānī (Persian/Pashto: صلاح‌الدین ربانی; born 10 May 1971)[1][2] is an Afghan diplomat and politician who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan from February 2015 to October 2019. He is also the owner of the Noor television network.[3]

He was the Afghan ambassador to Turkey in 2011-2012. In April 2012, it was announced that he was to chair the Afghan High Peace Council in its negotiations with the Taliban.[4][5][6]

Early life

Salahuddin Rabbani was born on 10 May 1971[1] in Kabul, Afghanistan.[2] Salahuddin's father was former Afghan High Peace Council chairman and Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani. His father was assassinated by a suicide bomber entering his home in 2011.[4][6][5]

He received an undergraduate degree in management and marketing from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia[2] in 1995.[1] In 2000, he received a Master's Degree in business management from Kingston University in the United Kingdom.[1] From 2006 until 2008, he attended Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) to earn an MA in international Affairs.[1]

Career

Private business and diplomacy

In the 1990s he worked in the financial accounting department of Saudi Aramco, and in 1996 he moved to the United Arab Emirates to work in the private sector.[1] After 2000 he joined Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[1] In that role, he served as the political counselor in New York to the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nation.[4][1] HE worked on issues relating to the UN Security Council, and also was the representation of Afghanistan at the First Committee of the United Nations’ General Assembly on Disarmament and International Security.[1]

Around 2008, he moved from the United States to Afghanistan to serve as a political advisor to his father.[1]

Ambassador to Turkey

In 2010, he was appointed Afghanistan's ambassador to Turkey,[1] serving in that position from 2011 to 2012.[4][5][6] He was selected as leader of the Jamiat-e Islami political party after the assassination of his father[1] on 20 September 2011.[7] He was ambassador from 1 January 2011 until 14 April 2012.[citation needed]

Afghan High Peace Council

After he was appointed to the role in March 2012,[1] in April 2012, it was announced that he was to chair the Afghan High Peace Council in its negotiations with the Taliban.[4][5][6] He was chairman from 15 April 2012 until 1 February 2015.[citation needed]

Foreign minister of Afghanistan

On 12 January 2015, he was nominated by President Ashraf Ghani as Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Ahmad Moqbel Zarar. He was confirmed by the Afghan Parliament on 28 January and was sworn in on 1 February.[1] On 21 March 2017, he spoke at a meeting organised by the Atlantic Council think-tank in Washington, D.C.[8]

Rabbani resigned on 23 October 2019, accusing Ghani of sidelining him and creating parallel structures that impeded the functioning of legitimate government institutions.[9] Ghani appointed Idrees Zaman as the acting foreign minister to replace Rabbani on 30 October.[10]

Television station

Logo of Noor Television

Rabbani owns Noor TV, a television network broadcasting out of Kabul.[11] In 2024 the Taliban government banned this channel.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Salahuddin Rabbani". Afghanistan Embassy. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Peace Council Salahuddin Rabbani from the University of King Fahd". BBC. April 14, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  3. ^ "1 killed in clash between Rabbani nephew, Kabul governor guards". 24 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Murdered Afghan talks head Rabbani replaced by son", BBC News, 14 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d "Son of former Afghan peace council chairman killed by suicide assassin takes charge of group", Washington Post, 14 April 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d "Karzai appoints slain leader's son to restart Afghanistan peace efforts", Miami Herald, 14 April 2012.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Afghan president assassinated". Aljazeera English. 20 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Pakistan's support for terrorism causes violence, says Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani", First Post, 22 March 2017, retrieved 22 March 2017
  9. ^ Salahuddin, Syed (24 October 2019). "Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani tenders his resignation". Arab News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Idrees Zaman Appointed As Acting Foreign Minister". Ariana News. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  11. ^ "1 killed in clash between Rabbani nephew, Kabul governor guards". 24 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Media Violation Commission bans two TV channels". Ariana News. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
Political offices
Preceded by Foreign Minister of Afghanistan
2015–2019 		Succeeded by
Idrees Zaman
Acting