The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the

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 l ...

and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

of the

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were formed ...

(2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief 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-chi ...

. On 15 August 2021, as the Taliban took over Kabul, President

Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban. Born in L ...

fled Afghanistan and took refuge in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

.Archived a
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After Ghani fled, the Taliban occupied the Arg presidential palace.

Eligibility and selection process

Article 62 of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan stated that a candidate for the office of President had to: * be a citizen of Afghanistan, Muslim, born of Afghan parents; * not be a citizen of another country; * be at least forty years old when declaring candidacy; * not have been convicted of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

, a criminal act or deprived of civil rights by a court; * not have previously served more than two terms as president.

Powers

The 2004 Constitution granted the president wide powers over military and legislative affairs, with a relatively weak national

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, the House of the People (Wolesi Jirga) and the

House of Elders House of Elders could refer to: * House of Elders (Afghanistan) * House of Elders (Somaliland) See also * Elder (disambiguation) An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administra ...

(Meshrano Jirga). A president could only serve up to two five-year terms.

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

began his first five-year term in 2004. After his second term ended in 2014,

was elected as the next Afghan president.

Last election

References

{{Heads of state of Afghanistan 1973 establishments in Afghanistan 2021 disestablishments in Afghanistan Heads of state of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan