The government of Afghanistan is currently disputed following the effective collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul to Taliban forces on 15 August 2021 and the subsequent re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which now exercises de facto control over most of the country. On 7 September 2021 the Taliban officials in de facto control of most of Afghanistan announced a new interim government headed by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund as Prime Minister. The government is subject to the oversight of the Taliban's Supreme Leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada. As of 8 September 2021, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has not yet been formally recognized as the de jure government of Afghanistan by any other country. The representatives appointed by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan continue to represent the country at the United Nations. These representatives have refused to recognize the Taliban appointed government and have urged other countries to not recognize this government either.
The 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan was the supreme law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which lasted from 2004 to 2021. It served as the legal framework between the Afghan government and the Afghan citizens. Although Afghanistan was made a state in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the earliest Afghan constitutional movement began during the reign of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in the 1890s followed by the drafting in 1922 of a constitution. The 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan transformed Afghanistan into a modern democracy.
Younus Qanooni is an Afghan politician who was Vice President of Afghanistan. An ethnic Tajik, Qanooni is the leader of the Afghanistan e Naween political party and former Speaker of the House of the People.
Though Afghanistan has had democratic elections throughout the 20th century, the electoral institutions have varied as changes in the political regime have disrupted political continuity. Elections were last held under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was deposed by the Taliban in August 2021. The Taliban dissolved the Elections Commission in December 2021. In May 2022, when asked if the Taliban would hold elections, First Deputy Leader Sirajuddin Haqqani said the question was "premature". All political parties have been banned since August 2023.
The Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA), also known as the Afghan Transitional Authority, was the name of the temporary transitional government in Afghanistan put in place by the June 2002 loya jirga. The Transitional Authority succeeded the original Islamic State of Afghanistan, and preceded the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021).
The Council of Ministers of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is the executive body of the government of Afghanistan, responsible for day-to-day governance and the implementation of policy set by the Leadership. It is headed by the prime minister—who serves as the nation's head of government—and his deputies, and consists of the heads and deputy heads of the government ministries.
The National Assembly, also known as the Parliament of Afghanistan or simply as the Afghan Parliament, was the legislature of Afghanistan in various forms from the monarchy, republican, communist and democratic periods between 1931 and 2021. It was a bicameral body, comprising two chambers:
Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta is a politician in Afghanistan who last served as National Security Advisor of President Hamid Karzai. Prior to that he served as Foreign Minister from April 2006 to January 2010.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (MoFA) is the cabinet ministry responsible for managing the foreign relations of Afghanistan.
The Afghan Interim Administration (AIA), also known as the Afghan Interim Authority, was the first administration of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime and was the highest authority of the country from 22 December 2001 until 13 July 2002.
Mohammad Haneef Atmar is an Afghan politician and former KhAD agent. He served as the Minister of interior until he was removed from the Ministry by Hamid Karzai in the wake of attacks on the June 2010 Afghan Peace Jirga. Before that he worked with several international humanitarian organisations and served as Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and Minister of Education. In 2011, he was part of the Right and Justice party. During his time in office, he has visited several countries to get funding to stabilise Afghanistan.
Abdullah Abdullah is a Pashtun Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government was overthrown by the Taliban. The council had been established to facilitate peace talks between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban insurgents. Abdullah served as the Chief Executive of Afghanistan from September 2014 to March 2020, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 2001 to April 2005. Prior to that, he was a senior member of the Northern Alliance, working as an adviser to Ahmad Shah Massoud. He worked as an ophthalmologist and medical doctor in the 1980s.
Engineer is an honorific used in Afghanistan, which is commonly translated into English, rather than being transliterated, like "Mullah" or "Maulvi".
Parliamentary elections were held in Afghanistan on 18 September 2010 to elect members of the House of the People. The Afghan Independent Election Commission - established in accordance with the article 156 of the Constitution of Afghanistan for the purpose of organizing and supervising all elections in the country - postponed the poll from its original date of 22 May to September 18.
The Karzai administration was the government of Afghanistan under President Hamid Karzai, who became the head of state of Afghanistan in December 2001 after the Taliban government was overthrown. Karzai was appointed at the 2002 Loya Jirga as the Interim President of the Afghan Transitional Administration. After the 2004 Afghan presidential election, he became the President of Afghanistan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the holding of a consultative grand council called the Afghanistan's National Consultative Peace Jirga (NCPJ) or Peace Jirga in his inauguration speech on 19 November 2009, after winning elections for a second term, to end the ongoing Taliban insurgency. At the International Afghanistan Conference in London on 28 January 2010, he announced that the government would hold the event in April or May 2010, intended to bring together tribal elders, officials and local power brokers from around the country, to discuss peace and the end of the insurgency. "Jirga" is a word in the Pashto language that means "large assembly" or "council". It is a traditional method in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan of resolving disputes between tribes or discussing problems affecting whole communities.
An emergency loya jirga was held in Kabul, Afghanistan between 11 and 19 June 2002 to elect a transitional administration. The loya jirga was called for by the Bonn Agreement and Bush administration. The agreement was drawn up in December 2001 in Germany. Conducted under United Nations auspices, the talks at Bonn sought a solution to the problem of government in Afghanistan after the US ousted the Taliban government.
The second Karzai cabinet was the cabinet of Afghanistan that led the government from the re-election of president Hamid Karzai in 2009 until the end of his term in 2014. The cabinet consisted of the president, his two vice-presidents, 18 ministers who received approval from the Afghan Parliament, and 7 acting ministers who have not been approved.
The Truth and Justice Party or Hezb-e-Haq-wa-Adalat was a political party in Afghanistan. The party was multi-ethnic. Its members came from various ethnic groups, representing the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Balochs and Nuristanis. Although led by a leadership council, the most prominent member and possible presidential candidate from the party is Hanif Atmar, a former interior minister under President Karzai and National Security Advisor under President Ghani.
