Prime Minister of Afghanistan
Prime Minister of Afghanistan | |
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Appointer | King (1927–1973) President (1978–2001) |
Formation | 25 October 1927 1 May 1978 |
First holder | Shir Ahmad |
Final holder | Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai |
Abolished | 17 July 1973 21 August 1997 |
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The prime minister of Afghanistan was a post in the Afghan government. The position was created in 1927 as an official appointed by the king of Afghanistan. The holder served mostly as an advisor, until the end of the Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1973. During the 1980s, the position was the head of government.
History of the office
Kingdom
The chairman of the Council of Ministers was not headed by the prime minister, but the King. Only during his absence was the premier the acting chairman of the Council.
Until 1963, King Mohammed Zahir Shah appointed his relatives as prime ministers. King Zahir Shah also had the power to dismiss or transfer the prime minister. From 1963 onwards, this was changed, stating that the head of the Afghan government was the prime minister, and that the government consisted of its ministers. It was the first time that King Zahir Shah did not play an important role in the government, leaving it to an elected authority. However, it also stated that they cannot engage in any other profession during their tenure of office.
The 1964 Constitution also granted the prime minister the power to summon the Electoral College in case of the death of the king. The prime minister only answered to the Wolesi Jirga about the General Policy of the government, and individually for their prescribed duties.[1]
Democratic Republic
In April 1978, Mohammed Daoud Khan was killed during a coup that started the Saur Revolution. The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) revived the office of Prime Minister that year, and it remained throughout the 1980s.
The president was in charge of the appointment of the prime minister, who in turn appointed the Council of Ministers. The Council's stated purpose was to formulate and implement domestic and foreign policies, to formulate economic development plans and state budgets, and to ensure public order.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the president was required to appoint the prime minister in order to form the government. The prime minister had the power to dissolve the government. Several Afghan presidents during the Democratic Republic era were also appointed as Prime Minister. With the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the prime minister was no longer in charge of the government. The general secretary of the PDPA or the director of the KHAD exercised greater power.
Also, the 1990 Constitution established that only Afghan-born citizens are eligible to hold the office, something that was not specified in the previous documents.
Islamic State/Emirate
After the collapse of Mohammad Najibullah's government, a transitional state was created. Thus, the office of Prime Minister once again played an important role in the history of the nation.
There was constant friction between the president and the premier during this period. The state had collapsed and there was not an effective central government from 1992 until 1996. Thus, the position became de facto ceremonial, with little power in what was left of the government.
The title was abolished when the Taliban forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan took over control in 1996. The deputy leader of the Taliban was often known as the prime minister throughout its rule. With the death of Mohammad Rabbani in 2001,[2] the Taliban decided not to revive the office.
Until August 1997, the government which the Taliban had ousted, which remained in rebellion until the end of the Taliban rule in 2001, had a prime minister in the government, but the position was abolished.
List of heads of government
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
Name | Portrait | Lifespan | Term of office | Political party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
Kingdom of Afghanistan (1926–1973) | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Shir Ahmad | ![]() |
c. 1885–? | 25 October 1927 | January 1929 | 1 year, 68 days | Independent |
Prime Minister; Deposed | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Shir Giyan | ![]() |
Died 1929 | January 1929 | 1 November 1929 | 304 days | Independent |
Prime Minister; Deposed | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Mohammad Hashim Khan | ![]() |
1884–1953 | 1 November 1929 | 9 May 1946 | 16 years, 189 days | Independent |
Prime Minister; Member of the Barakzai dynasty | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Amanat Lewana | ![]() |
Unknown | c. 1944 | c. 1946 | c. 2 years | Unknown |
Prime Minister; Eastern Province only during the 1944–47 tribal revolts | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Shah Mahmud Khan | ![]() |
1890–1959 | 9 May 1946 | 7 September 1953 | 7 years, 121 days | Independent |
Prime Minister; Member of the Barakzai dynasty | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Mohammed Daoud Khan | File:Mohammed Daoud Khan.jpg | 1909–1978 | 7 September 1953 | 10 March 1963 | 9 years, 184 days | Independent |
Prime Minister; Member of the Barakzai dynasty | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Mohammad Yusuf | ![]() |
1917–1998 | 10 March 1963 | 2 November 1965 | 2 years, 237 days | Independent |
Prime Minister | |||||||
rowspan="3" style="background:Template:Progressive Democratic Party of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal | ![]() |
1919–1973 | 2 November 1965 | 11 October 1967 | 1 year, 343 days | Independent (until 1966) |
Progressive Democratic Party | |||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Abdullah Yaqta | ![]() |
1914–2003 | 11 October 1967 | 1 November 1967 | 21 days | Independent |
Acting Prime Minister | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Mohammad Nur Ahmad Etemadi | ![]() |
1921–1979 | 1 November 1967 | 9 June 1971 | 3 years, 220 days | Independent |
Prime Minister | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Abdul Zahir | ![]() |
1910–1982 | 9 June 1971 | 12 November 1972 | 1 year, 156 days | Independent |
Prime Minister | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Mohammad Musa Shafiq | ![]() |
1932–1979 | 12 November 1972 | 17 July 1973 | 247 days | Independent |
Prime Minister; Deposed | |||||||
Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978) | |||||||
Post abolished (17 July 1973–27 April 1978) | |||||||
Democratic (Communist) Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Nur Muhammad Taraki | ![]() |
1917–1979 | 1 May 1978 | 27 March 1979 | 330 days | People's Democratic Party (Khalq faction) |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Hafizullah Amin | File:Hafizullah Amin.jpg | 1929–1979 | 27 March 1979 | 27 December 1979 | 275 days | People's Democratic Party (Khalq faction) |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers; Assassinated | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Babrak Karmal | ![]() |
1929–1996 | 27 December 1979 | 11 June 1981 | 1 year, 166 days | People's Democratic Party (Parcham faction) |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Sultan Ali Keshtmand | ![]() |
1935– | 11 June 1981 | 26 May 1988 | 6 years, 350 days | People's Democratic Party (Parcham faction) |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers; First Tenure | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Mohammad Hasan Sharq | ![]() |
1925– | 26 May 1988 | 21 February 1989 | 271 days | Independent |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers; Appointed as part of National Reconciliation process | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Sultan Ali Keshtmand | ![]() |
1935– | 21 February 1989 | 8 May 1990 | 1 year, 76 days | People's Democratic Party (Parcham faction) |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers; Second Tenure | |||||||
rowspan="3" style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Fazal Haq Khaliqyar | ![]() |
1934–2004 | 8 May 1990 | 15 April 1992 | 1 year, 343 days | People's Democratic Party (Parcham faction) (until June 1990) |
Homeland Party | |||||||
Chairman of the Council of Ministers; Resigned | |||||||
Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–2002) | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin/meta/color" | | Abdul Sabur Farid Kohistani | ![]() |
1952–2007 | 6 July 1992 | 15 August 1992 | 40 days | Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin |
Prime Minister | |||||||
Post vacant (15 August 1992–17 June 1993) | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin/meta/color" | | Gulbuddin Hekmatyar | ![]() |
1947– | 17 June 1993 | 28 June 1994 | 1 year, 11 days | Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin |
Prime Minister; First Tenure | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Islamic Dawah Organisation of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Arsala Rahmani Daulat | ![]() |
1937–2012 | 28 June 1994 | 1995 | 0–1 years | Islamic Dawah Organisation |
Acting Prime Minister | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Islamic Dawah Organisation of Afghanistan/meta/color" | | Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai | ![]() |
1944– | 1995 | 26 June 1996 | 0–1 years | Islamic Dawah Organisation |
Acting Prime Minister | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin/meta/color" | | Gulbuddin Hekmatyar | ![]() |
1947– | 26 June 1996 | 11 August 1997 | 1 year, 46 days | Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin |
Prime Minister; Second Tenure; The Islamic State remained the internationally recognized government, despite only controlling about 10% of Afghan territory | |||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color" | | Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai | ![]() |
1947–1997 | 11 August 1997 | 21 August 1997 | 10 days | Independent |
Prime Minister; Killed in an aircraft crash | |||||||
Post vacant (21 August 1997–13 July 2002) | |||||||
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001) | |||||||
Mullah Mohammad Rabbani |
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1955–2001 | 27 September 1996 | 13 April 2001 | 4 years, 198 days | Taliban | |
Deputy Head of the Supreme Council; Prime Minister; Deputy leader of the Taliban; Died in office | |||||||
Maulavi Abdul Kabir |
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1958/1963– | 16 April 2001 | 13 November 2001 | 211 days | Taliban | |
Acting Deputy Head of the Supreme Council; Acting Prime Minister; Deposed |
See also
References
- ^
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Richard S. Newell (1997). Peter R. Blood (ed.). Afghanistan: A Country Study. Federal Research Division. The Constitutional Period, 1964-73.
- ^ Dugger, Celia W. (20 April 2001). "Muhammad Rabbani, Advocate of Some Moderation in Taliban". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
External links
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