The supreme leader of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان مشر, Də Afġānistān Damshīr, prs, رهبر افغانستان, Rahbar-e Afghānistān), officially the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, prs, رهبر امارت اسلامی افغانستان, Rahbar-e Imārat-i Islāmī-yi Afghānistān and also referred to by his religious title ''Amir al-Mu'minin'' (), is the ruler,

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

, and highest religious authority 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 border ...

, as well as the leader of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

. He has unlimited authority, though in practice he shares some power with the consultative Leadership Council, whose members he appoints. He also serves as the chairman of the Leadership Council and is the supreme commander of the

Afghan Armed Forces ("The land belongs to Allah, the rule belongs to Allah") , founded = 1997 , current_form = , branches = * Afghan Army * Afghan Air Force , headquarters = Kabul , website = , commander-in-chief ...

. The current supreme leader is

Hibatullah Akhundzada Hibatullah Akhundzada, also spelled Haibatullah Akhunzada, is an Afghan Islamic scholar, cleric, and jurist who is the supreme leader of Afghanistan. He has led the Taliban since 2016, and came to power with its victory over Western-backe ...

, who assumed office in exile on 25 May 2016, upon being chosen by the Leadership Council, and came to power on 15 August 2021 with the Taliban's victory over Western-backed forces in the 2001–2021 war. Since coming to power, Akhundzada has issued numerous decrees that have profoundly reshaped government and daily life in Afghanistan by implementing his strict interpretation of the

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...

school of

Sharia law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

. The supreme leader appoints and directs the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and other members of the Cabinet, as well as judges and provincial and local leaders. He oversees their work together with the Leadership Council.

History

The office was established by

Mullah Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law. The title has also been used in some Mi ...

Mohammed Omar, who founded both the

and the original Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the 1990s. On 4 April 1996, in

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ...

, followers of Omar bestowed upon him the title

Amir al-Mu'minin Amir al-Mu'minin ( ar, أَمِير ٱلْمُؤْمِنِين, amīr al-muʾminīn) is an Arabic title designating the supreme leader of an Islamic community. It is usually translated as "Commander of the Faithful", though sometimes also as "Prin ...

(أمير المؤمنين), meaning "Commander of the Faithful", as Omar had donned a cloak taken from its shrine in the city, asserted to be that of the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets ar ...

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mono ...

. The Taliban views the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

as its constitution. However, it approved a ''dastur'', a document akin to a basic law, in 1998, which proclaimed Omar supreme leader but did not outline a succession process. In 1996 interview, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil stated that the Amir al-Mu'minin is "only for Afghanistan", rather than a

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

claiming leadership of all Muslims worldwide. Following the September 11 attacks and the

United States invasion of Afghanistan In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operations ...

in 2001, Omar was deposed and the office of the leader was replaced by a presidency. Nevertheless, all subsequent leaders of the Taliban have borne the title of Commander of the Faithful. Following its offensive in 2021, the Taliban recaptured Kabul after the United States withdrew its forces on 15 August of that year and became Afghanistan's new ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' government again. The supreme leader receives the highest government salary in the reinstated Islamic Emirate, at monthly.

Selection

The supreme leader is appointed by the Leadership Council.

Powers and duties

Under Omar, the leader held absolute power, and the Taliban’s interpretation of

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and th ...

was entirely his decision. It is unclear what exactly the current role of the Emir is, but under the 1998 draft constitution of the first Islamic Emirate, the Leader of the Faithful would appoint justices of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions ...

. Under the current government however, the Emir has final authority on political appointments, as well as political, religious, and military affairs. The Emir carries out much of his work through the Rabbari Shura, or the Leadership Council (which he chairs), based in

, which oversees the work of the Cabinet, and appointment of individuals to key posts within the cabinet. However, in a report from

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera M ...

, the Cabinet has no authority, with all decisions being made confidentiality by Akhundzada and the Leadership Council.

List of supreme leaders

;Status

Timeline

Deputy Leader

The deputy leader of Afghanistan, officially the deputy leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ( ps, د افغانستان د اسلامي امارت مرستیال, prs, معاون امارت اسلامی افغانستان), is the deputy

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ce ...

of the Taliban, tasked with assisting the leader with his duties. All three leaders of the Taliban have had deputies, with the number of deputies fluctuating between one and three. Akhundzada has three deputies:

Sirajuddin Haqqani Sirajuddin Haqqani ( ps, سراج الدين حقاني, Sirāj al-Dīn Ḥaqqānī, ; aliases ''Khalifa'', and, ''Siraj Haqqani''. born December 1979) is an Afghan Islamist militant who is the first deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acti ...

Mullah Yaqoob Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid (Pashto/, , ; born 1990) is an Afghan Islamic scholar, cleric, and Islamist militant who is the second deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting defense minister. He has been a deputy leader of the Taliban si ...

, and

Abdul Ghani Baradar Abdul Ghani Baradar, , (born 29 September 1963 or 1968; known by the honorific ''mullah'') is an Afghan political and religious leader who is currently the acting first deputy prime minister alongside Abdul Salam Hanafi and Abdul Kabir, of ...

. Haqqani was first appointed as a deputy leader by

Akhtar Mansour Akhtar Mohammad Mansour (1960s21 May 2016) was the second supreme leader of the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan. Succeeding the founding leader, Mullah Omar, he was the supreme leader from July 2015 to May ...

in 2015, and was retained by Akhundzada. Upon assuming office in 2016, Akhundzada appointed Yaqoob, a son of Mullah Omar, as a second deputy. Akhundzada appointed Baradar as a third deputy in 2019.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leader Of The Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan * Leader of the Islamic Emirate Leader of the Islamic Emirate