Abdullah
cutive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan[1] since September 2014.[2] From October 2001 to April 2005, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that he was a senior member of the Northern Alliance working as an adviser to Ahmad Shah Massoud.[3] He also worked as a medical doctor during the late 1990s.Abdullah ran against President Hamid Karzai in the 2009 Afghan presidential election, coming in second place with 30.5% of the total votes. In 2010, he created the Coalition for Change and Hope (now the National Coalition of Afghanistan), which is one of the leading democratic opposition movements in Afghanistan.[4][5] In 2011, the coalition was transformed into the National Coalition of Afghanistan.[6] He ran again in the 2014 presidential election and went to the second round with 45% the total vote.[7] His closest rival, Ashraf Ghani, had secured 35% of the total vote.[7] Due to signs of fraud, the results of the second round were heavily contested and led to a deadlock.[8][9] Despite the controversy regarding the results of the second round of elections, the final certified result by the Independent election commission of Afghanistan shows that Ashraf Ghani received 55.3% of the votes while Abdullah Abdullah secured 44.7% of the vote.[10] After months of talks and US mediation, the two candidates established a national unity government in which Abdullah serves as the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.[11][12]
Contents
Early life
Abdullah was born in the second district of Kabul in Kabul, Afghanistan.[13] His early years were split between living in Panjshir Province, and Kabul, where his father was serving as an administrator in the land survey, and subsequently the audit section of the Prime Minister's office. He is the son of a Pashtun father from the Kandahar area, and a Tajik mother from the north.[14][15] He has seven sisters and two brothers.[16]Until he became a government minister, Abdullah had only a first name; demands from Western newspaper editors for a family name led him to adopt the full name "Abdullah Abdullah".[17] Dr Abdullah is married, and has three daughters and a son.
Education and medical career
Abdullah graduated from Naderia High School in 1976. Then he went on to study ophthalmology at Kabul's University Department of Medicine where he received an MBBS in 1983. From '84 to '85 he served as a resident ophthalmologist at N'oor Institute in Kabul. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government from 1985 to 1986 he worked in the veterinary hospital for Animals in Peshawar.[18]Early political career
Soviet war in Afghanistan
In September 1985, Abdullah became the head of the Health Department for the Panjshir Resistance Front, coordinating treatments and health care for the resistance fighters and the civilian population.[16] He became a close associate and adviser to mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud in the Soviet–Afghan War.[19]Islamic State of Afghanistan
After the fall of the communist government in 1992, the Peshawar Accord established the Islamic State of Afghanistan with a provisional government led by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Abdullah was appointed chief of staff and spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense.[16]United Islamic Front
On September 27, 1996, the Taliban seized power in Kabul and 90% of the country with military training support by Pakistan and previous financial support by the United States of America, and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.[20]Following the capture of Kabul by the Taliban, the Northern Alliance was created under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Massoud, The NA was supported by Russia, Iran and India. Dr. Abdullah became the United Front's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Islamic State of Afghanistan elements of the United Front, including the Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud and the Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, remained Afghanistan's internationally recognized government. The Taliban government was recognized by only three countries - Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
In early 2001 Abdullah traveled with Ahmad Shah Massoud to Brussels where Massoud addressed the European Parliament asking the international community to provide humanitarian help to the people of Afghanistan.[21] Dr. Abdullah translated when Massoud stated that the Taliban and al-Qaeda had introduced "a very wrong perception of Islam" and that without the support of Pakistan and Bin Laden,
References
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on Monday said the national unity government remained committed to reforming the electoral bodies.
- Nordland, Rod (21 September 2014). "Ashraf Ghani Is Named President of Afghanistan by Elections Panel". New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abdullah Abdullah. |
- Dr. Abdullah on YouTube with Ahmad Shah Massoud in the European Parliament
- Dr. Abdullah Abdullah Official Presidential Campaign Website
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Abdullah Abdullah on Charlie Rose
- "Abdullah Abdullah collected news and commentary". The Guardian.
- "Abdullah Abdullah collected news and commentary". The New York Times.
- Karzai's Challenger Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Aryn Baker in Pashir, Time, 5 August 2009
- Video: Abdullah Abdullah at the Asia Society, New York, 5/27/2010
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Deputy Leader of the Northern Alliance 1996–2001 |
Succeeded by Position abolished |
| Leader of the National Coalition of Afghanistan 2010–present |
Incumbent | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai |
Minister of Foreign Affairs 2001–2005 |
Succeeded by Rangin Dadfar Spanta |
| Preceded by Position established |
Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan 2014–present |
Incumbent |
Languages
Fifty years ago I was born in the second district of Karte Parwan in Kabul in the same house where I reside today. Both of my parents were born in Kabul, but my father's family comes from Panjshir and my mother's from the Kabul Province. I have seven sisters and two brother.
