Cabinet of Afghanistan

The cabinet 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.

Predecessors to a cabinet

18th century

When Ahmad Shah Durrani started ruling over his empire in 1747, he had no administrative experience, nor did much of his closest advisors. As a result, he chose to adopt a government style similar to the Mughals and Safavids, with his main idea of a government based on an absolute monarchy. A tribal council ruled in hand with Ahmad Shah as well, serving as a form of cabinet. However, Ahmad Shah had made the positions of his cabinet hereditary, thus making it difficult to dismiss advisors without causing conflict. Their roles, however, were mostly purely de jure, and tasks were delegated to subordinates.

His grandson Zaman Shah had wanted a ministry and cabinet that would be loyal to him and of his people, as a result he had replaced the old ministry of his father Timur Shah and replaced them with loyal Pashtuns devoted to himself, strengthening his position on the throne.

19th century

Under Emir Sher Ali Khan, Afghanistan saw its first formal cabinet structure. He first established a twelve-member consultative state council (the first such body since Ahmad Shah Durrani) composed of civic leaders and military officers of his own selection, though it faded in practice during the latter years of his reign. In 1873, on the occasion of the official nomination of Sardar Abdullah Jan as heir apparent, the Emir enlarged the executive branch and promoted a set of officials to ministerial positions with Pashto titles. He did not include any member of the royal Mohammadzai dynasty. Instead, he explicitly applied the principle of personal qualification in his appointments. The cabinet's effectiveness was demonstrated in the turbulent period surrounding the amir's death, when Prime Minister Nur Mohammad Khan Foshanji and Finance Minister Habib Allah Wardak played stabilizing roles.

When Emir Abdur Rahman Khan came to power in Kabul in 1880, the central administration consisted of only ten clerks overseen by a single official. Using the military branch as a supervisory body, he established a civil administration that, in a modified form, remains in place today. He introduced institutions that were precursors to modern ministries, such as the Treasury Board, Board of Trade, Bureau of Justice and Police, Department of Public Works, Office of Posts and Communications, Department of Education, and Department of Medicine. Despite his autocratic rule, Abdur Rahman Khan created a Supreme Council, similar to a modern cabinet.

However, this council had no prime minister and no real power, serving only in an advisory capacity. Its members included high-ranking officials like the lord chamberlain ('Ishik Aghasi' or Shahghasi), the seal keeper, the chief secretary, secretaries appointed by the Amir, officers of the Royal Guard, the treasurer of the Amir's private wealth, the secretary of state for War, regional secretaries of state, the postmaster general, the commander-in-chief, the master of the horse, the Kotwal (equivalent to an Interior Minister), the accountant general, the chief chamberlain, the superintendent of the armory, and heads of the Trade and Education Boards.

Early 20th century

In 1914, counselors advised Emir Habibullah Khan on different political issues and had some form of authority. With Emir Amanullah Khan's ascension to the throne on 28 February 1919, amidst numerous political reforms, the Council of Ministers, headed by Amanullah himself, was established, creating the first well-structured cabinet in the history of Afghanistan.

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Emirate/Kingdom (1919–1973)

Quddus/Ahmad cabinet (1919–1929)

Saqqawist cabinet (1929)

Two days after King Inayatullah Khan abdicated his throne to Bacha-i-Saqao and his Saqqawist regime, the new rulers formed a cabinet, abolishing the Ministry of Trade, the General Directorate of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice as well as other ministries.

First Hashim cabinet (1929–1933)

Second Hashim cabinet (1933–1946)

Lewana cabinet (c. 1944–1946)

During the Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947, the rebelling Safi tribe established a rival government in the Eastern Province with its own cabinet under king Salemai. The offices were described by Amanul Mulk in 1983 in an interview published by David B. Edwards (2017). Because these offices are preserved by oral history, specific term dates are unavailable. The Safi revolt itself lasted from c. 1944 – c. 1946.

First Mahmud cabinet (1946–1950)

Second Mahmud cabinet (1950–1953)

First Daoud cabinet (1953–1963)

Interim Yusuf cabinet (1963–1965)

Maiwandwal cabinet (1965–1967)

First Etemadi cabinet (1967–1969)

Second Etemadi cabinet (1969–1971)

Zahir cabinet (1971–1972)

Shafiq cabinet (1972–1973)

Republic (1973–1978)

Second Daoud cabinet (1973–1975)

Third Daoud cabinet (1975–1977)

Fourth Daoud cabinet (1977–1978)

Democratic Republic / Second Republic (1978–1992)

Taraki Council of Ministers (1978–1979)

Amin Council of Ministers (1979)

Karmal Council of Ministers (1979–1981)

First Keshtmand Council of Ministers (1981–1988)

Sharq Council of Ministers (1988–1989)

Second Keshtmand Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers (1989–1990)

Khaliqyar Council of Ministers (1990–1992)

Post-Najibullah interim government (1992)

Beginning on 18 March 1992 when President Mohammed Najibullah announced that he would resign as soon as a transitional authority was formed and especially since 10 April when a UN-backed plan of a pre-transition council composed of impartial personalities was presented, the government of the Republic of Afghanistan began to deteriorate quickly as government members were beginning to defect to the different mujahedin parties, offering assistance to each of the parties entering Kabul. The dynamics of these defections were heavily influenced by ethnic identity. Most Pashtun officials and police officers in the Ministry of Interior Affairs around Mohammad Aslam Watanjar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs around Raz Mohammad Paktin and other members from the Khalq faction sought to build alliances with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, commander of the Hizb-e Islami, while Tajik officers in the military and government, being mostly Parchamites, were defecting to Ahmad Shah Massoud, commander of the Jamiat-e Islami, and Turkmen and Uzbek officials were siding with Abdul Rashid Dostum, formerly aligned with the government but recently defected himself forming the Junbish-i Milli. On 16 April, Najibullah resigned after coming under pressure from an alliance of rebel leaders and dissident army officers. He tried to flee the country, but was intercepted by the dissident army unit of Dostum at the Kabul International Airport, and his whereabouts remained unclear.

Between 16 and 28 April 1992, though still officially in charge of the executive, the Khaliqyar Council of Ministers de facto did not exist anymore. In the wake of his resignation, Najibullah handed over power to a council composed of senior members of the executive committee of his ruling Watan Party, namely the four vice presidents Abdul Rahim Hatif (as acting president), Abdul Hamid Mohtat, Mohammed Rafie and Abdul Wahid Sorabi. But amid reports of escalating fighting and troop defections in and around Kabul, the new council's control of the capital appeared tenuous and divided. According to some sources, the actual power in the government was held by four Tajik ex-PDPA generals allied with Massoud who were backed by army leaders in the capital and northern Afghanistan. Among those four were Deputy Defense Minister Mohammad Nabi Azimi, the commander of the Kabul Garrison Baba Jan Zahid and Chief of Staff of the army Muhammad Asif Delawar. Foreign Minister Abdul Wakil, himself being a dissident, stated that the insurgents were open to transferring power to a UN-sponsored interim government if one could be established. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency session to address the Afghan crisis, and UN envoy Benon Sevan extended his stay in Kabul for further discussions. Additionally, Wakil reported that Ghulam Faruq Yaqubi, the head of the KHAD, had committed suicide and was replaced by Osman Sultani.

On 24 April, the Peshawar Accords were signed, and different mujahideen groups took over control: while the Ministry of Interior Affairs and the Arg were occupied by Hekmatyar's forces, most of the other government ministries were conquered by Massoud's and Dostum's forces. By 25 April, the city center of Kabul, which was the last part of the city still in the hands of the government, fell into the hands of the different mujahideen rebel groups.

At a press conference in Peshawar, the leaders of six rebel parties named a 50-member interim council, composed of five representatives from each of the ten major rebel groups. The council was to be under the leadership of the Afghan National Liberation Front leader and former Afghan Interim Government president Sibghatullah Mojaddedi and was to move to Kabul within two days to rule for two months. After two months of rule by Mojaddedi, Jamiat-e Islami leader Burhanuddin Rabbani was to take over as president of the transitional government for four months before a permanent government was to replace it. In Rabbani's government, according to some reports, Hekmatyar was to be prime minister, Massoud defense minister, Ittehad-e-Islami leader Abdulrab Rasul Sayyaf interior minister and Mahaz-e-Melli leader Seyyed Ahmad Gailani foreign minister. The transitional government was to remain in power for four months after which a grand assembly of tribal elders would arrange and schedule national elections. Hekmatyar immediately expressed his opposition to the plan.

On 27 April 1992, Hekmatyar and his allies were forced out of the ministries and institutions that they occupied by the Northern Alliance forces, an on 28 April, the Islamic State of Afghanistan was officially declared, ending communist rule over Afghanistan exactly 14 years after the Saur Revolution. On this day, members of the old government, including the former prime minister Fazal Haq Khaliqyar, the leaders of the old Senate and House of Representatives, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court Abdul Karim Shahdan, handed power to Mojaddedi in a formal ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Islamic State (1992–1996)

Afghan Mujahideen Transitional Council (1992)

On 5 May 1992, at least 36 Mujahideen leaders were named as members of the transitional administration; among those were the Interim Council president Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, President-designate Burhanuddin Rabbani, Prime Minister nominee Abdul Sabur Farid Kohistani, three Deputy Prime Minister designates, 28 ministers, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Maulawi Abdullah, Attorney General Mohammad Qasim, the President of the Central Bank and Minister advisor Maulawi Mohammad Mir. Many government officials in less important positions are not known by name.

Afghan Interim Leadership Council (1992–1993)

The Leadership Council took over power on 28 July 1992 and according to the Peshawar Accord, the mandate for the interim government was intended to expire after four months on 28 October. For an orderly transition, according to the Afghan News Agency, President Burhanuddin Rabbani, Hezb-e Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Ittehad-i Islami leader Abdulrab Rasul Sayyaf and Harakat-i Inqilab-e Islami leader Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi agreed to call a shura before that date to elect a new government. However, on 24 October, the Leadership Council ratified the generalities of a resolution bill to establish a Resolution and Settlement Council of 1,335 members from all provinces and powerful groups to elect a president for a term of 18 months, and on 27 October, the Leadership Council elected to extend Rabbani's term by one and a half months until 15 December 1992. But when a first meeting of this Resolution and Settlement Council failed to convene on 12 December, Rabbani announced that he would stay interim president until a successor was chosen. On 30 December, the Council once again met in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appoint an interim president, but most mujahideen groups boycotted the meeting because of bribery allegations. At the end, even though 360 council members chose not to participate, the council voted to keep Rabbani in power who was sworn in as president for 18 month on 3 January 1993. Until he named a new cabinet, members of the Interim Leadership Council stood in their roles as caretaker ministers.

On 7 March 1993, after six days of negotiations, Rabbani and Hekmatyar and other major Mujahideen representatives signed the Islamabad Accord, agreeing on a ceasefire. The agreement designated the Organization of the Islamic Conference and Mujahideen representatives as monitors of the ceasefire and, among other points, designated Hekmatyar to be the prime minister and Rabbani to continue as president. They also were to jointly appoint the cabinet, but because of differences between the parties on the nomination of Ahmad Shah Massoud as defense minister, the appointment was decided to be done on 22 March 1993. This was first postponed until 29 March and then again until 2 April 1993 when a list of candidates for the ministries was presented to Rabbani. It was not announced who Hekmatyar proposed as candidates. Rabbani refused to accept the list and told that it was ″subject to change″. Even though Hekmatyar then unilaterally tried to dissolve the cabinet, the former cabinet remained in place as most government ministers reported to work as usual. On 15 April, Hekmatyar presented a second list which, unlike the first one, included Massoud, but as Foreign Minister instead of Defense Minister. Rabbani rejected Hekmatyar's proposal for the second time. On 30 April, Rabbani, Hekmatyar and other mujahideen leaders met up in Jalalabad to once again discuss the formation of a cabinet, but without reaching a result. In a second meeting on 17 May, government and Mujahideen representatives agreed to a plan giving Rabbani control of the Defense Ministry while Hekmatyar would control the Interior Ministry for two months. On 20 May it was deciced that two members from each of the Mujahideen parties were assigned to a cabinet position and that Massoud would resign as defense minister. A new Defense and Interior Minister were to be appointed by a council led by Rabbani.

First Hekmatyar cabinet and power struggles (1993–1996)

On 17 June 1993, Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his cabinet were sworn in by President Burhanuddin Rabbani. On 8 September, Hekmatyar called on Rabbani and the cabinet to resign to allow for the establishment of a "neutral interim government" to be chosen in a free general election, but was denied. On 11 December, Rabbani allegedly approved the resignation of Hekmatyar and the transfer of power to Communications Minister Mohammad Amin Waqad, however, the Hezb-e Islami denied that he had stepped down as prime minister. On 19 December, Radio Afghanistan announced that Qutbuddin Hilal had assumed the duties of prime minister, which again was denied by Hekmatyar.

Since 1 January 1994 when Rabbani's and Hekmatyar's forces openly went to war against each other, the real power that the cabinet had at that point was heavily put under question because the ministers loyal to each side where only commanding to the president or prime minister respectively.

Rabbani refused to step down at the end of his term on 28 June 1994 and then again half a year later on 28 December 1994, and on 1 January 1995, United Nations peace envoy Mahmoud Mestiri returned to Kabul. On 10 January 1995, Rabbani offered to step down and turn over power to a 23-member UN interim administration if Hekmatyar agreed to withdraw. On 12 February, the many parties agreed to a multi-party council which would take over on 20 February. On that date though, the scheduled transfer of power was disrupted by demands from Rabbani for assurances that the new government includes the newly emerging Taliban. Hence, Rabbani further delayed his resignation stating he would not resign before 21 March. On 18 March however, Rabbani announces that hewould not step down on the UN-appointed date because the "mechanism for the transfer of power had not been established", and that the transfer of power to an interim government was delayed for another 15 days, which also did not happen. At that point, Hekmatyar already had to abandon his headquarters in Chahar Asyab due to the overwhelming force of the Taliban, further diminishing or de facto (but until November 1995 not de jure) ending his power as prime minister. On 14 November 1995, Mistiri reported that Rabbani had agreed to step down and to transfer power to a 25-member transitional council, but the Taliban rejected that proposal.

On 20 May 1996, President Burhanuddin Rabbani met with ex-Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to discuss an alliance between Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami and the Rabbani's government, and on 24 May they agreed to end hostilities between their two groups to move toward an elected government. On 26 June 1996, Hekmatyar was sworn in as prime minister for a second time, keeping the ministers of the old government as acting ministers until a new cabinet was elected.

Second Hekmatyar cabinet (1996)

On 26 September 1996, it was reported that the Taliban have captured Kabul, although this was denied by Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai. The next day, the government fled north of Kabul to Charikar and Jabal Saraj at the gateway to the Panjshir Valley, considering the inevitable conquer of the city by the guerilla forces. The Rabbani government tried to reconquer the capital for a year, but where weakened and lost even more land, so that on 21 August 1997, when Hekmatyar already fled to Iran and his successor Ghafoorzai died, the cabinet, which already de facto lost control over the country, was dissolved.

Islamic Emirate (1996–2001)

Rabbani Provisional Council of Ministers (1996–2001)

On 27 September 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul, forcing the old government to flee from the city. They also set up a six-member provisional council, among them Information and Culture Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Foreign Minister Mohammad Ghaus Akhund, Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Health Minister Massoumi Afghan and others, to govern the capital and named Mohammad Rabbani, who is not related to Islamic State's president Burhanuddin Rabbani, to lead the Council of Ministers. The Taliban declared the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which was only recognized by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, though Pakistan and the United Emirates later withdrew their recognition after the September 11 attacks. All other states continued to recognize the Islamic State of Afghanistan.

Transitional Islamic State (2001–2004)

Post-Taliban transitional phase (2001)

When Kabul fell to the Northern Alliance on 13 November 2001, former president Burhanuddin Rabbani returned to the Arg on 17 November. While the Taliban government still controlled Kandahar for several weeks, around two dozen prominent Afghans convened at the Bonn Conference to establish an interim administration and set a timeline for adopting a new constitution and holding democratic elections.

Concerns arose that Rabbani might attempt to retain power and marginalize Pashtun and Shia opposition groups, but he ultimately cooperated and supported the formation of a representative government. On 6 December 2001, it was decided that Pashtun leader Hamid Karzai would assume leadership. Until the official transition on 22 December, Rabbani remained de jure president of Afghanistan, as the United Nations had never recognized the Taliban's legitimacy. However, the de facto power rested with the Northern Alliance, which established a "Supreme Military Council" to administer the newly captured territories. The council, which ruled out a return of Rabbani, declared a three-month mandate. Council positions were held by close Massoud-allies: Mohammad Qasim Fahim as head of the council and defense minister, Yunus Qanuni as acting Interior Minister and Abdullah Abdullah as acting foreign minister.

Karzai interim cabinet (2001–2002)

While the 30-member cabinet lineup was announced on 6 December, Karzai and his ministers were officially sworn in only on 22 December 2001.

Karzai transitional cabinet (2002–2004)

The Bonn Agreement of December 2001 had installed an interim government, the 2002 Loya Jirga subsequently elected a transitional administration. From July 2002 until the presidential elections in October 2004, the Transitional Administration governed Afghanistan.

Islamic Republic (2004–2021)

First Karzai cabinet (2004–2010)

Second Karzai cabinet (2010–2015)

After winning a second term, President Hamid Karzai nominated 23 ministers in December 2009 to be part of his new administration but only 7 were approved by the National Assembly. All the other candidates that Karzai initially selected were rejected by members of the National Assembly. Karzai presented a second list of 18 candidates to the Wolesi Jirga on 9 January 2010. A week later, the Wolesi Jirga again approved only seven of the candidates. Since then, part of the ministries have been governed by acting ministers who do not held approval of the Afghan legislature. The 14 approved ministers were sworn in on 18 January 2010. Major changes to the cabinet were made when the Wolesi held votes of confidence for nominated ministers, particularly on 28 June 2010 were five ministers were approved, leaving only six of the 25 ministries left with an acting minister, 5 March 2012, 15 September 2012, 25 September 2013 and 25 December 2013.

When Ashraf Ghani was inaugurated as the new President of Afghanistan on 29 September 2014, he kept the ministers of the Karzai cabinet as acting ministers until the new National Unity Government could be formed with Abdullah Abdullah. However, after two months at the end of November 2014, he replaced all acting ministers with their respective deputy ministers to show that he would respect the constitution where it says a minister can only stay in office in an acting role for a maximum of two months. These new cabinet ministers stayed in office until the new government was formed in February 2015.

First Ghani cabinet (2015–2020)

Second Ghani cabinet (2020–2021)

Islamic Emirate (2021–present)

Post-Republic transitional government (2021)

On the first days of the new regime, tentative nominations to the cabinet were announced until late August 2021, including the acting ministers of Public Works, Water and Energy, Education and the acting Head of the Central Bank among other high-ranking officials. Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada directly appointed the caretaking ministers. Additionally, Wahid Majrooh, a minister of the old regime, stayed in office after cooperating with the Taliban until the end of September.

Akhund caretaker cabinet (2021–)

On 7 September 2021, a men-only "caretaker cabinet" was appointed by Akhundzada, headed by Hasan Akhund as Prime Minister. The Ministry of Women's Affairs was abolished. This was followed by three more major rounds of appointments on 21 September, 4 October and 23 November 2021. Among those were the nominations of two Taliban veterans as deputy ministers.