Abdul Majid Zabuli (August 14, 1896 – November 23, 1998) was the founder of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

's banking system. He founded the Ashami company in 1932, which eventually became the Afghan National Bank (Bank-e-Mili Afghan ).

Early life and education

Zabuli was born in Ghazni province, Nawa district, Husain Khail village in 1896. He was then educated in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

before spending some time in Berlin.

Mohammed Nadir Shah Mohammed Nadir Shah (Persian and ps, محمد نادر شاه – born Mohammed Nadir Khan; 9 April 1883 – 8 November 1933) was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Minist ...

's government requested that Zabuli return to Afghanistan to assist with economic affairs of state.

Early attempts to establish a national bank

Until 1930, both public and private trade and banking in Afghanistan occurred through financing provided by money bazaars. When trade was disrupted due to a revolt against

Amānullāh Khān Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...

, Zabuli suggested the establishment of a national bank. This had been previously suggested by Amanulla and had been rejected on religious grounds. However, Zabuli was given permission by

to establish a joint stock company in its place. Even though the company was given a monopoly over imports of sugar, petroleum and motor vehicles as well as exports of cotton, karakul and wool it was not a successful venture.

Establishment of the Afghan National Bank (Bank-e-Mili Afghan)

In 1931, Abdul Majid Zabuli was able to use the investment capital he had accrued through the cotton trade with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

to establish Afghanistan's first investment bank. While privately owned, the Bank-e-Meli Afghan was given power over currency regulation and acted as a de facto government organisation. Abdul Majid Zabuli was the major shareholder of the bank until it was nationalized in 1975 by the Afghan President Sardar Daud. Until the bank was nationalized in 1975, Zabuli directed the affairs of the Bank from his residence in Nahant, Massachusetts, U.S.A. and appointed all the executives of the bank and the bank owned enterprises.

Political career

Zabuli was a supporter of the Weekh Zalmian movement. It called for the youth of Afghanistan to work for the common good of their country without recourse to outside interference, the eradication of bribery and oppression, legal rights for women and the furtherance of the national economy. In 1948, Abdul Majid Zabuli visited Washington in his role as Minister of National Economy. He requested that the US provide arms and financial assistance to Afghanistan to allay concerns in Afghanistan regarding possible Soviet aggressions following the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

withdrawal from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Both these requests were denied.

Ludwig W. Adamec Ludwig W. Adamec (10 March 1924 – 1 January 2019) was a noted scholar on the Middle East and Afghanistan. He was a professor emeritus in the School of Middle East and North African Studies at the University of Arizona.

Historical Dictionary
of Afghanistan 2012, S. 456

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabuli, Abdul Majid 1896 births 1998 deaths Afghan bankers Afghan centenarians Men centenarians People from Zabul Province