| Shahmahmood Miakhel | |
| Office1: | First Deputy/Acting Defense Minister |
| Status1: | Acting |
| Term Start1: | July 2020 |
| Term End1: | March 2021 |
| Successor1: | Mohammad Fazl |
| Office2: | Nangarhar |
| Status2: | Gouverneur |
| Term Start2: | February 2019 |
| Term End2: | July 2020 |
| Successor2: | Zia-Ul Haq Amarkhil |
| President2: | Ashraf Ghani |
| Predecessor2: | Hayatullah Hayat |
| Office3: | Ministry of Interior Affairs (Afghanistan) |
| Minister3: | Ali Jalali |
| Status3: | Deputy Minister of Interior |
| Term Start3: | 28 January 2003 |
| Term End3: | 27 September 2005 |
| President3: | Hamid Karzai |
| Birth Place: | Kunar, Afghanistan |
| Native Name: | شاه محمود میاخېل |
| President1: | Ashraf Ghani |
| Children: | 7 |
| Awards: | Wazir Akbar Khan medal |
| Citizenship: | US citizen |
Shahmahmood Miakhel (also spelled Shah Mahmood Miakhel; *01.05.1958 in Kunar, Afghanistan) (Pashto: شاه محمود میاخېل) is an Afghan politician.
He was the appointed ambassador for Afghanistan to Qatar before the Taliban overthrew the government.[1] [2] During the reign of Ashraf Ghani, he was considered one of the most influential politicians.[3]
Miakhel earned his Master of Business Administration from Preston University in Pakistan. He also studied agriculture at Kabul University and completed a fellowship program at Stanford University on democracy, development and the rule of law.[4] He has been a member of numerous NGOs and government organizations, including UN sub-organizations.[5] [6]
From 2005 to 2009, he was governance advisor/head of the governance unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMA) for Afghanistan.
Miakhel first gained notoriety as Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Interior in 2003 to 2005.[7] [8] From September 2009 to February 2019, he served as Country Director at the United States Institute of Peace. He gained a high-profile[9] and popularity especially among the population[10] through the confidence[11] of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who appointed him as governor in Nangarhar.[12] [13]
Also during his time in Nangarhar, he succeeded in becoming the first governor in history[14] to ban and sanction foreign currencies. He banned the circulation of Pakistani rupees in Nangarhar after they had been used as Afghan currency in the local market for four decades.[15] Since December 12, 2019, it was forbidden to pay with Rupee or other to pay foreign currencies.[16] According to Afghan statistics, at the time, Nangarhar province was safer than it had ever been.[17] [18]
After his voluntary[19] resignation, he was tagged as deputy defense minister.[20] Due to a prolonged illness of the Defense Minister Asadullah Khalid,[21] Shahmahmood Miakhel became acting Minister of Defense. He served from March 11, 2021, to June 25, 2021, and resigned due to internal issues.[22] Miakhel was to be sent to Qatar as ambassador to also participate in the Taliban peace talks.
Miakhel is married with seven (4 boys and 3 girls) children and holds U.S. citizenship. Miakhel is known for engaging with citizens and critics on social media like Facebook on a daily basis and fighting corruption.[23] He advocates for women's rights[24] [25] and is an opponent of the current Afghan Taliban government.[26] He has survived several attacks.[27]