| Post: | Prime Minister |
| Body: | the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan |
| Insignia: | Arms of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.svg |
| Insigniacaption: | Emblem of Afghanistan |
| Flagborder: | yes |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of Afghanistan |
| Incumbent: | Hasan Akhund |
| Incumbentsince: | 7 September 2021 |
| Acting: | y |
| Department: | Government of Afghanistan |
| Type: | Head of government |
| Member Of: | Cabinet |
| Reports To: | Leadership |
| Seat: | Kabul |
| Appointer: | Supreme Leader |
| Termlength: | At the pleasure of the supreme leader |
| Constituting Instrument: | 1998 dastur |
| First: | Shir Ahmad |
| Succession: | No (Deputy Leader succeeds Supreme Leader) |
| Deputy: | Deputy Prime Minister |
| Salary: | monthly[1] |
The prime minister of Afghanistan, officially the prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the head of government of Afghanistan.[2]
The position was created in 1927 as an official appointed by the king of Afghanistan. The holder served mostly as an advisor, until the end of the Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1973. During the 1980s, the position was the head of government. The post was abolished after the US invasion that ousted the Taliban regime, after which a presidential form of government was established which lasted from 2004 to 2021. After the US withdrawal and the re-establishment of the Taliban rule, the post was revived.
The prime minister and government are subject to the instruction of the supreme leader.[3] On September 7, 2021 the Taliban officials who exercised de facto control of Afghanistan announced Islamic scholar Hasan Akhund as acting prime minister in a new interim government of the recently re-established Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.[4]
See main article: Kingdom of Afghanistan. The chairman of the Council of Ministers was not the prime minister, but the king. Only during his absence was the prime minister the acting chairman of the Council.
Until 1963, King Mohammad Zahir Shah appointed his relatives as prime ministers. The king also had the power to dismiss or transfer the prime minister. From 1963 onwards, this was changed, stating that the head of the Afghan government was the prime minister, and that the government consisted of its ministers. It was the first time that the king did not play an important role in the government, leaving it to an elected authority. However, it also stated that they cannot engage in any other profession during their tenure of office.
The 1964 Constitution also granted the prime minister the power to summon the Electoral College in case of the death of the king. The prime minister only answered to the Wolesi Jirga (lower house of the Parliament) about the General Policy of the government, and individually for their prescribed duties.
See main article: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. In April 1978, Mohammad Daoud Khan was killed during a coup that started the Saur Revolution. The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) revived the office of prime minister that year, and it remained throughout the 1980s.
The president was in charge of the appointment of the prime minister, who in turn appointed the Council of Ministers. The Council's stated purpose was to formulate and implement domestic and foreign policies, to formulate economic development plans and state budgets, and to ensure public order.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the president was required to appoint the prime minister in order to form the government. The prime minister had the power to dissolve the government. Several Afghan presidents during the Democratic Republic era were also appointed as prime minister. With the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the prime minister was no longer in charge of the government. The general secretary of the PDPA or the director of the KHAD exercised greater power.
Also, the 1990 Constitution established that only Afghan-born citizens are eligible to hold the office, something that was not specified in the previous documents.
See main article: Islamic State of Afghanistan. After the collapse of Mohammad Najibullah's government, a transitional state was created. Thus, the office of prime minister once again played an important role in the history of the nation.
There was constant friction between the president and the premier during this period. The state had collapsed and there was not an effective central government from 1992 until 1996. Thus, the position became de facto ceremonial, with little power in what was left of the government.
See main article: Taliban. The title was abolished when the Taliban forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan took over control in 1996. The deputy leader of the Taliban was often known as the prime minister throughout its rule. With the death of Mohammad Rabbani in 2001,[5] the Taliban decided not to revive the office.
Until September 1997, the government which the Taliban had ousted, which remained in rebellion until the end of the Taliban rule in 2001, had a prime minister in the government, but the position was abolished.
On September 7, 2021, the Taliban reinstated the position of prime minister.
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Name | Portrait | Lifespan | Term of office | Political affiliation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| Kingdom of Afghanistan (1926–1973) | |||||||
| Shir Ahmad | –? | 25 October 1927 | January 1929 | Independent | |||
| Shir Giyan | died 1929 | January 1929 | 1 November 1929 | Independent | |||
| Mohammad Hashim Khan | 1884–1953 | 1 November 1929 | 9 May 1946 | Independent | |||
| Amanat Lewana | Unknown | Unknown | |||||
| Shah Mahmud Khan | 1890–1959 | 9 May 1946 | 7 September 1953[6] | Independent | |||
| Mohammad Daoud Khan | 1909–1978 | 7 September 1953 | 10 March 1963 | Independent | |||
| Mohammad Yusuf | 1917–1998 | 10 March 1963 | 2 November 1965 | Independent | |||
| Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal | 1919–1973 | 2 November 1965 | 11 October 1967 | Independent | |||
| Progressive Democratic Party | |||||||
| Abdullah Yaqta | 1914–2003 | 11 October 1967 | 1 November 1967 | Independent | |||
| Mohammad Nur Ahmad Etemadi | 1921–1979 | 1 November 1967 | 9 June 1971 | Independent | |||
| Abdul Zahir | 1910–1982 | 9 June 1971 | 12 November 1972 | Independent | |||
| Mohammad Musa Shafiq | 1932–1979 | 12 November 1972 | 17 July 1973 | Independent | |||
| Post abolished (17 July 1973 – 1 May 1978) | |||||||
| Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) | |||||||
| Nur Muhammad Taraki | 1917–1979 | 1 May 1978 | 27 March 1979 | People's Democratic Party | |||
| Hafizullah Amin | 1929–1979 | 27 March 1979 | 27 December 1979 | People's Democratic Party | |||
| Babrak Karmal | 1929–1996 | 27 December 1979 | 11 June 1981 | People's Democratic Party | |||
| Sultan Ali Keshtmand | born 1935 | 11 June 1981 | 26 May 1988 | People's Democratic Party | |||
| Mohammad Hasan Sharq | born 1925 | 26 May 1988 | 21 February 1989 | Independent | |||
| Sultan Ali Keshtmand | born 1935 | 21 February 1989 | 8 May 1990 | People's Democratic Party | |||
| Fazal Haq Khaliqyar | 1934–2004 | 8 May 1990 | 15 April 1992 | People's Democratic Party | |||
| Homeland Party | |||||||
| Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–2002) | |||||||
| Abdul Sabur Farid Kohistani | 1952–2007 | 6 July 1992 | 15 August 1992 | Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin | |||
| Post vacant (15 August 1992 – 17 June 1993) | |||||||
| Gulbuddin Hekmatyar | born 1947 | 17 June 1993 | 28 June 1994 | Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin | |||
| Arsala Rahmani Daulat | 1937–2012 | 28 June 1994 | 1995 | ≈ 1 year | Ittehad-e Islami | ||
| Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai | 1944–2021 | 1995 | 26 June 1996 | ≈ 1 year | Ittehad-e Islami | ||
| Gulbuddin Hekmatyar | born 1947 | 26 June 1996 | 11 August 1997 | Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin | |||
| Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai | 1947–1997 | 11 August 1997 | 21 August 1997 | Independent | |||
| Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001) | |||||||
| Mullah Mohammad Rabbani | 1955–2001 | 27 September 1996 | 13 April 2001 | Taliban | |||
| Mawlawi Abdul Kabir | born 1958 | 16 April 2001 | 13 November 2001 | Taliban | |||
| Post abolished (13 November 2001 – 7 September 2021) | |||||||
| Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (2021–present) | |||||||
| Mullah Hasan Akhund | between 1945 and 1958[7] | 7 September 2021 | Incumbent | Taliban | |||
| Mawlawi Abdul Kabir | born 1958 | 17 May 2023 | 17 July 2023 | Taliban | |||