Muḥammad Mūsá Shafīq ( ps, محمد موسی شفيق; 1932–1979) was

Prime Minister of Afghanistan The prime minister of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان لومړی وزیر; prs, رئیس‌الوزرای افغانستان) is the head of government of Afghanistan. The position was created in 1927 as an official appointed by the Ki ...

. He was an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

politician and poet. He became Foreign Minister in 1971 and Prime Minister in December 1972. He lost both positions when

Mohammed Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan ...

was overthrown on July 17, 1973. He survived throughout the regime of

Mohammed Daoud Khan Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup ...

, but was arrested after the 1978 communist coup d'état and executed along with many other anti-communist politicians in 1979.

Early life

Mohammad Musa Shafiq was born in

Kama district Kama is a district in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, to the east of Jalalabad. Its population, which is 100% Pashtun, was estimated at 180,000 in 2012. The district is within the heartland of the Mohmand tribe of Pashtuns. The district centre ...

, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan in 1932. Son of prominent Afghan politicians, civil servants and religious leader Mawlawi Mohammad Ibraheem Kamavi.

Education

Mohammad Musa Shafiq was graduated from Kabul Arabic Religious High School. He earned his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from Al-Azhar University in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

after which he earned an additional Master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York, United States of America.

Prime minister

As Prime Minister, Shafiq supported reforms of the largely conservative society of Afghanistan. He also sought closer ties with the United States and promised a crack-down on opium growing and smuggling. Other than that, he was also responsible for solving the then ongoing water dispute with Iran on diplomatic terms.Anderson, Jack (2 March 1973) "The Afghanistan Connection" ''The Syracuse Post-Standard'' (Syracuse, New York) page 5, column 3 Shafiq was prime Minister for seven months.

Notes

Prime Ministers of Afghanistan Columbia University alumni 20th-century Afghan poets Executed prime ministers 1932 births 1979 deaths Executed Afghan people 20th-century executions by Afghanistan People from Nangarhar Province Al-Azhar University alumni Foreign ministers of Afghanistan Assassinated heads of government {{Afghanistan-bio-stub