Dr ashraf ghani ahmadzai biography
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Of course, Afghan presidential candidates try to garner as much support by having a “well-rounded” ballot, representing different ethnic groups, areas, sects, and since Dostum has a lot of support in the North, juxtaposed with Ghani’s ‘Pashtunism’, it makes sense, but is a bit jarring.
When Ghani was declared the winner of the election, he agreed to a compromise – making Abdullah Abdullah the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) – a newly created position- to avoid a potential parallel government being setup.
He ran again in 2014 in what was considered a deeply flawed and corrupt exercise. After the 2001 American-led invasion and removal of the Taliban from power, Ghani went back to Afghanistan and worked as Finance Minister (under Hamid Karzai) and Chancellor of Kabul University. In 1996, he pioneered the application of institutional and organizational analysis to macro processes of change and reform, working directly on the adjustment program of the Russian coal industry and carrying out reviews of the Bank’s country assistance strategies and structural adjustment programs globally.
Per Afghan Biographies, UAE officials received him for humanitarian reasons.
Is Ashraf Ghani Back In Afghanistan?
In his August 2022 interviewwith American journalist Nick Schifrin for PBS, Ashraf Ghani said that he wouldn’t go back “under the Taliban rule.”
Still, he added that he’d “be delighted to return as an Afghan citizen” to a better and more improved Afghanistan.
Final Thoughts
Together with Clare Lockhart, Ashraf Ghani wrote the book Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World (2009), published by Oxford University Press.
One of those failed nations is Afghanistan.
PBS reported that based on an April 2023 U.N.
Development Program (UNDP) report, in 2020, there were an estimated 19 million Afghans living in poverty.
During his time as president (2014-2021), Ashraf Ghani tried to uplift the conditions of the country, but it appears that he failed miserably.
by S. Ghilzai / October 21, 2015
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (محمد اشرف غني احمدزی) 1 is the current President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
He served as the chairman of the Transition Coordination Commission (TCC) in 2010 which was responsible for transferring authority from foreign to national troops. Usually that’s bad.”
Well, the news about Ashraf Ghani was him as an ex-leader, not as a teacher.
The February news article by Khaama Press featuring him tells readers about his frustrations over some bad news in Afghanistan: irregularities, lack of transparency, the country’s exportation of heroin, and so on.
How’s Afghanistan when Ashraf Ghani - who ranked second in a 2013 international poll by British magazine Prospect on “world thinkers” - was the one in power?
Early Life Of Ashraf Ghani
On February 12, 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his birthday greetings to Ashraf Ghani.
Ghani was in Munich, Germany, when he replied to Modi.
He was born in 1949 in the province of Logar to a wealthy Pashtun family. Ghani and Abdullah’s five-year rule as a Unity Government has been a tumultuous one marked by relentless bickering and infighting. Many believe that during the 2014 presidential elections, he used his full name (Ahmadzai) when campaigning in order to further identify himself as a Pashtun.
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Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai
Born in central Logar Province on May 19, 1949, Ghani, who holds a doctorate in Anthropology from Columbia University, first went to the U.S.
as a high school exchange student. 2006), a non-profit organization that, according to its website, aims to “stimulate action to advance the rule of law worldwide.”
As they say, if at first you don’t succeed, then try again.
Ashraf Ghani gave up his U.S. citizenship to be an eligible presidential candidate in the 2009 Afghan election.
Per Afghan Biographies, he secured the services of American political consultantJames Carville, who handled the successful presidential campaign of Bill Clinton in 1992.
Nevertheless, Ghani only managed to clinch barely 3% of the votes.
For the second consecutive time, Hamid Karzai (first term: 2004-2009) won the presidency (2009-2014).
It appears, however, that it’s his destiny to become the president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, winning not only once but twice:
- first term: September 29, 2014 to September 2019
- second: March 9, 2020 to August 2021
On a bright note, per TED Talks: Ashraf Ghani, as president:
- made economic, banking, and trade reforms
- established “land and air corridors”
- constructed railways and revived the Lapis Lazuli and Chabahar trade routes to improve trade
The organization added:
“„He established fundamental reforms to ensure social justice and political participation, particularly meaningful participation of Afghan women and youth in politics, as well as reforms in legal and justice, procurement, and security institutions.- TED Talks
While some commended Ashraf Ghani as president (“Afghanistan’s modern-day technocrat” by Afghan-Web.com; “lion of the desert” by TheKeyExecutives.com), others slammed him.
Eisa Khan Ayoobi’s 2018 opinion piece in Al Jazeera accuses Ashraf Ghani of promoting ethnic divisions in Afghanistanduring his first term of office.
Frud Bezhan, a desk editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL), shared the view of Ayoobi, when he described Ghani in a 2021 RFERL article as a “deeply polarizing president.”
In another 2018 opinion piece, this time published by Mehr News Agency, Pakistani journalist Masood Chaudhary calls him “a puppet king” - the U.S.
government’s puppet, that is.
Chaudhary believes that America is using him as a “pawn” to continue its influence in Afghanistan.
Ashraf Ghani Leaves Afghanistan
In May 2021, the U.S. withdrew its troops in Afghanistan, which the Taliban perceived as an opportunity to get back its hold on the country.
And that’s exactly what this Afghan militant organization did.
The Taliban’s renewed pursuit of power cut short the second term of Ashraf Ghani.
News agencies reported how the Taliban gained control over the country, including the capital, Kabul, by middle of August.
Ali Adili, a researcher at the non-profit Kabul-based think tank Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), told RFERL:
“„His [Ghani] divisive and unpopular leadershipaffected the management and planning of the war.- Ali Adili
On August 15, 2021, per Reuters, Ghani fled Afghanistan and headed to Tajikistan, as officially announced by an unnamed Interior Ministry official.
He advised interim President Karzai and served as the Finance Minister in the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan until December 2004.
As Afghanistan’s minister between July 2002 and December 2004, he set the path for Afghanistan’s economic recovery after the collapse of the Taliban. During his tenure as Finance Minister, he designed a package of reforms and initiated several public investment programs that led to significant improvements in the livelihoods of ordinary Afghans across the country.
Ghani has combined personal integrity with extremely tough measures against corruption . 1914) sponsored the said program.
In a LOHS yearbook, in the row of student pictures, “Ashraf Ahmad” is written under his photo. . Here, according to TheKeyExecutives.com, he discusses Afghanistan’s problematic economy and struggle to create a centralized government.
According to Columbia.edu, when he was working at World Bank, Ashraf Ghani took part in leadership training programsfrom:
- Harvard BusinessSchool
- INSEAD (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires) in France
- Stanford Graduate School of Business
Ashraf Ghani Career
On its websitededicated to the World Leaders Forum - where he was once invited as a guest speaker - Columbia University described Ashraf Ghani as a “leading scholar of Political Science and Anthropology.”
In the 2010 FP Top 100 Global Thinkers, an annual list by the established international magazine Foreign Policy, he ranked at number 50.
He was declared winner on September 22, 2014 and served through 2021.
(A full biography is available here.)
Photo Credit: Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai / Flickr - UK Department of International Development
Ghani moved between the East and the West, giving TED talks in English to sold out audiences, and never letting his Pashto falter in a room full of elders.
Ghani first ran for president in 2009, capturing barely a quarter of the votes.
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani grew up in Afghanistan before pursuing his education abroad. According to RFERL, he left without informing senior officials.
Amrullah Saleh, his vice president, called his decision to leave as “disgraceful,” quoted BBC.
In his defense, Ashraf Ghani said, as quoted by Reuters:
“„To avoid bloodshed, I thought it would be better to leave.- Ashraf Ghani
In his December 2021 BBC interview, he explained that leaving was unplanned and “sudden.”
From Kabul, he wanted to go to Khost, but National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib told him that the Taliban already captured that city.
They - Ghani and wife, Rula; Mohib; and Chief of Staff Fazel Fazly - boarded a plane and left the country.
After his degree, Ghani came back to Afghanistan to teach at Kabul University and subsequently won a government scholarship to attend Columbia University in New York City to pursue his Master’s degree in 1977.
During his studies, the communists invaded Afghanistan, and most of Ghani’s family was imprisoned, so Ghani stayed put in the United States, and started working on his PhD, also at Columbia.