Anwar ul-Haq Ahady (August 12, 1951) is an Afghan politician and former Minister of Commerce and Industry.[1][2] He had served as the nation's Finance Minister from December 2004 to February 5, 2009. From 2002 to 2004, he was the head of Da Afghanistan Bank, the central bank of Afghanistan. He is also an academic and writer.[3]

Anwar ul-Haq Ahady
Ahady in 2009
Minister of Finance
In office
December 2004 – February 2009
PresidentHamid Karzai
Preceded byAshraf Ghani Ahmadzai
Succeeded byOmar Zakhilwal
Minister of Commerce and Industry
In office
28 June 2010 – November 2013
Preceded byGhulam Mohammad Eylaghi
Succeeded byMohammad Shakir Kargar
Personal details
Born (1951-08-12) August 12, 1951 (age 73)
Jigdalai, Sarobi District, Kabul Province, Afghanistan
Political partyAfghan Social Democratic Party (Afghan Mellat)
Alma materKabul University Degree in Law

American University in Beirut B.A. & M.A. in Political Science

Northwestern University PhD in Political Science & MBA
OccupationCentral banker
ProfessionPolitician, writer

Early years

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Ahady was born on 12 August 1951 in Sarobi, Kabul province, Afghanistan. He is the son of Abdul Haqhas, a Pashtun and native of the Sarobi district in Kabul province. Ahady holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Ph.D. in political science[3] from the post-graduate faculty of Northwestern University,[4] in Evanston, Illinois, north of Chicago. He earned a bachelor's degree as well as a master's degree in economics and political science from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.[3]

Career

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Ahady served as an assistant professor of political science at Carleton College, in Northfield, Minnesota, in the United States, and as the banking director of Continental Elona of Chicago from 1985 to 1987. He was a professor of political science at Providence College, a Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, from 1987 to 2002.

After the removal of the Taliban government and the formation of the Karzai administration in late 2001, Ahady was chosen as the head of Afghanistan's central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank. He has many writings in academic journals, books, and popular dailies of the United States.

He served as Afghan Finance Minister from 2004 to 2009, Minister of Commerce from 2010 to 2013, and Minister of Agriculture from 2020 to August 2021.

Following the fall of Kabul, Ahady fled abroad. He currently sits on the board of the Fund for the Afghan People, a Switzerland-based non-profit organization that administers funds of Da Afghanistan Bank frozen after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.[5][6]

Political affiliation

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Ahady was the elected leader of the Afghan Millat Party until his ousting in 2016.[7]

Works

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  • "The Decline of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan", Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady, Asian Survey, Vol. 35, No. 7. (Jul., 1995), pp. 621–634.

References

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  1. ^ Pashtun Shinwari, ed. (February 12, 2011). "Landmark Afghan-Pak trade pact goes into effect". Pajhwok Afghan News. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  2. ^ "Presidential Candidate Ahadi Against Karzai's Loya Jirga". Archived from the original on 2014-11-12. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
  3. ^ a b c "::: The Minister". Archived from the original on 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  4. ^ "Mr. Ahady Goes to Kabul".
  5. ^ "Accueil". afghanfund.ch (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  6. ^ "Interest of $270 million earned so far from Afghanistan's frozen assets | Ariana News". www.ariananews.af. 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  7. ^ Kakar, Javed Hamim (2016-02-10). "Afghan Millat party ousts former minister Ahady, Sherzad". Retrieved 2024-05-04.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Finance
2004–2009
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Commerce and Industry
2010–2013
Succeeded by