Habib Mangal is an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...

citizen who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.

Studies and medical career

Mangal is a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, mai ...

, who also has a doctorate in Social Sciences. According to a profile in the '' Pajhwok Afghan News'' his secondary education was at the Rahman Baba Higher Secondary School, and his medical education was at

Kabul Medical University Kabul Medical University (Pashto د کابل طبي پوهنتون / Dari: پوهنتون طبي کابل) formerly known as Kabul Medical Institute) is located in Kabul, Afghanistan on the campus of Kabul University. The medical institution was i ...

. The profile doesn't state where or when he earned his doctorate in Social Science. In 1977 and 1978 he worked as a doctor in Khost Hospital. He was subsequently the Public Health Director in

Samangan Province Samangan (Dari: ; Pashto: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located north of the Hindu Kush mountains in the central part of the country. The province covers and is surrounded by Sar-e Pol Province in the west, Balkh in the ...

Political career

He joined the

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgh ...

(PDPA) in 1964, when he was 18 years old. According to his profile in the ''Pajhwok Afghan News'' he worked as an activist for the party from 1964 to 1981. He helped found the Students' Movement at

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; prs, دانشگاه کابل, translit= Dāneshgāh-e-Kābul; ps, د کابل پوهنتون, translit=Da Kābul Pohantūn) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd ...

in 1972 and 1973. He was imprisoned for his student union activities. He was imprisoned again in 1977-1978. The ''Pajhwok Afghan News'' profile attributed this second imprisonment to "political reasons", and to "intra-party differences". In 1979 he became a member of the PDPA's Central Committee. From 1980 to 1986 Mangal held senior diplomatic posts. In 1986 he participated in a Constitutional

Loya Jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...

as a representative of

Paktia Paktia ( Pashto/ Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughl ...

. From 1987 to 1991 he represented Paktia in the

Wolesi Jirga The House of Representatives of the People, or Da Afghanistan Wolesi Jirga ( ps, دَ افغانستان ولسي جرګه), was the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, alongside the upper ...

, the upper house of Afghanistan's National Legislature. When the DPPA's administration of Afghanistan fell in 1992 he traveled to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he remained until 2009. According to his ''Pajhwok Afghan News'' profile, he was active in the Afghan expatriate community in the Netherlands.

Diplomatic career

According to his ''Pajhwok Afghan News'' profile, he was Afghanistan's ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and non-resident ambassador to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

, from 1980 to 1986. The administration of Dr. Najibullah he served had asked for military aid, to fight internal opposition, from the Soviet Union in 1979, and has been described as puppet government.

Presidential candidacy, 2009

During the 2009 Presidential elections he stood 10th in a field of 38. He gained 7,339 votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangal, Habib 1946 births Living people Afghan public health doctors Ambassadors of Afghanistan to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Afghanistan to Finland Ambassadors of Afghanistan to Romania Ambassadors of Afghanistan to Cyprus People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan politicians Members of the House of Elders (Afghanistan)