Muhammad Hasan Akhund Kakar (born ) is an Afghan politician and cleric who is currently the acting

prime minister of Afghanistan The prime minister of Afghanistan, officially the prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the head of government of Afghanistan. The position was created in 1927 as an official appointed by the king of Afghanistan. The holder ...

in the internationally unrecognized Taliban government since 7 September 2021. Akhund is one of the founding members of the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

and has been a senior leading member of the movement. In the first Taliban government (1996–2001), he served as the deputy

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Early life and education

Akhund is from southern Afghanistan. He belongs to the Kakar tribe of

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

. According to

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

data, he was born in Pashmul, which at the time of his birth was in

Panjwayi District Panjwayi (; also spelled Panjwaye, Panjwaii, Panjway, Panjawyi, Panjwa'i, or Panjwai) is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It is located about west of Kandahar. The district borders Helmand Province to the southwest, Maywand Distr ...

, but is now in

Zhari District Zhari (, ) is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Alternative spellings include Zheley (due to transliteration from Pashto), Zharey, Zharay, Zheri, or Zheray. The district was created in 2004 from land that was formerly part of May ...

, in Kandahar Province of the

Kingdom of Afghanistan The Kingdom of Afghanistan (; ) was a monarchy in Southern Central Asia that was established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Afghanistan. It was proclaimed by its first king, Amanullah Khan, seven years after he acceded to the ...

. The UN has two estimates for his year of birth, being approximately 1945–1950 and approximately 1955–1958. He studied in various Islamic seminaries in Afghanistan. Unlike many Taliban leaders, Akhund did not participate in the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

Political career

Akhund is one of the oldest members of the Taliban, and was a close associate of Mohammed Omar, the first leader of the movement. During the Taliban rule (1996–2001), in addition to being the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

, he also served as the

foreign minister of Afghanistan The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (MoFA) (, ) is the cabinet ministry responsible for managing the foreign relations of Afghanistan. On 11 January 2023, the ministry was bombed. It would again be bombed on ...

from 1998 to 27 October 1999. Like many other senior Taliban, he is subject to United Nations sanctions related to the sheltering of terrorist groups. During the period of insurgency (2001–2021), Akhund was intermittently a member of the

Quetta Shura The Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also translated as the Supreme Council (, also referred to as the Inner Shura), is an advisory council to the Supreme Leader of Afghanistan. The supreme leader convenes and chairs the ...

. In 2013, he was the chief of the Taliban's commissions and the head of the recruitment commission. Following the Taliban's return to power in 2021, Akhund was appointed interim Prime Minister. His appointment was seen as a compromise between the Taliban's moderate and hardline figures. He took office on 7 September 2021.

Additional information

Akhund is the author of several works on

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. According to ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', he is more influential on the religious side of the Taliban, as opposed to the military side. A

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American independent, nonprofit, national institute funded by the U.S. Congress and tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. See alsPDF on USIP website. It provides rese ...

analyst argued that he was more of a political person.

Notes

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Akhund, Hasan Afghan Sunni Muslims Prime ministers of Afghanistan Deputy prime ministers of Afghanistan Afghan Islamists Taliban government ministers of Afghanistan Pashtun people People from Kandahar Province Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century births Afghan writers Muslim writers