Mohammad Daoud Sultanzoy (; born 13 September 1952), is an Afghan politician, pilot and television presenter who served as Mayor of Kabul from 2020 to 2021; the

Fall of Kabul (2021) On 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban after 2021 Taliban offensive, a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021. It was the final action of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), War in Afghan ...

occurred during his incumbency. He was previously elected to represent

Ghazni Province Ghazni (; ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in southeastern Afghanistan. The province contains 19 Districts of Afghanistan, districts, encompassing over a thousand villages and roughly 1.3 million people, making it the 5th most ...

Wolesi Jirga The House of Representatives of the People, or Da Afghanistan Wolesi Jirga (), was the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, alongside the upper House of Elders. The House of Representatives of t ...

, the lower house of its National Legislature, in 2005. He is a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

from the

Ghilzai The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throughout the ...

tribe. He is the only politician ever to serve under three heads of state leaders, Ghani and Saleh for Islamic Republic, and Akhundzada for Islamic Emirate (Taliban).

History

Daoud Sultanzoy was born 13 September 1952 in Kabul. He graduated from

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; ) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, wh ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in engineering management in 1973. He trained as a pilot at the

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

Training Center and the McDonnell-Douglas Corporation Training Center. He held an aircraft Airline Transport Pilot diploma (equivalent to MA/MS) and was certified to fly more than eight types of jet aircraft with more than 32000 hours of flying worldwide. Sultanzoy fought against the Soviet Union and the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, later known as the Republic of Afghanistan, was the Afghan state between History of Afghanistan (1978–1992), 1978 and 1992. It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the ...

in the early 1980s, during 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 ...

. After he was wounded, he returned to the United States, where he became a pilot and in management for

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

. He actively participated in Afghan political and civil circles during the 1980s and 1990s. Daoud Sultanzoy returned to Afghanistan following the US led invasion in 2001, and was elected as a member of the 2002 loya jirga. He was later elected as a member of the

for Ghazni province in the 2005 parliamentary election. During his term he served as the Chairman of the ''Committee for National Economy,

Rural Development Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life, quality of life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Often, rural regions have experienced rural povert ...

, Agriculture and NGOs''. He also took part in numerous Presidential delegations to countries such as Germany, France, Pakistan, India, Russia, Iran, China, the US and many other European and Asian countries. Gave lectures and seminars in European ''think tanks'' in Germany, France, Italy, The European Union, India. More recently, Sultanzoy hosted a show on

Tolo TV TOLO () is a commercial television station operated by MOBY Group in Afghanistan. Launched in 2004, it became one of the first commercial stations in the country and laid the foundation for an accessible media outlet by offering a large library ...

, and ran in the

2014 Afghan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on 5 April 2014, with a second round held on 14 June. Incumbent President Hamid Karzai was not eligible to run due to term limits. The registration period for presidential nominations was open from ...

. He was previously the head of the ''Afghan Airfields Economic Development Commission'' (AAEDC). On 1 April 2020, he was appointed as the Mayor of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

by President Ashraf Ghani. On 15 August 2021, after the fall of Kabul, Daoud Sultanzoy released a video in which he said that the Taliban leadership contacted him and asked him to continue working as Mayor of

Municipality and "to provide the necessary services to the people." The Taliban named a replacement mayor on 24 August,

Hamdullah Nomani Hamdullah Nomani is the mayor of Kabul since August 24, 2021, replacing Mohammad Daud Sultanzoy. He also served in the same position during the earlier Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Early life Hamdullah Nomani was born around 1968 in Sipayaw ...

References

1952 births Living people 21st-century Afghan politicians Commercial aviators Kabul University alumni Members of the House of the People (Afghanistan) Pashtun people Mayors of Kabul People of the Soviet–Afghan War Politicians of Ghazni Province United Airlines people {{Afghanistan-politician-stub