Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Dr Abdullah Abdullah is the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He joined the Afghan national resistance against the invasion of the former Soviet Union in 1985. In 1992, he became the Spokesperson for the Defense Ministry, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1996 and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1998.

He was selected as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Interim Administration on December 22, 2001 at the Bonn Conference. In June 2002, Dr. Abdullah was again confirmed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and served as Secretary General of the Massoud Foundation in 2006. He was a candidate for the 2009 Presidential elections, and on November 1, 2009, he announced that he would not participate due to electoral commission’s inability to ensure transparency and credibility of the 2nd round of polls.

Dr. Abdullah broadened his “Coalition for Hope and Change” political party, forming the National Coalition of Afghanistan (NCA) in 2012. In October 2014, he was a candidate for the presidential elections and secured 44.65% of ballots. A second round of vote led to a political agreement between the two top vote getters, with Mohammad Ashraf Ghani serving as President, and Dr. Abdullah as Chief Executive of Afghanistan. Dr. Abdullah is married and has three daughters and one son. He is fluent in Dari, Pashto and English, and is proficient in Arabic and French.