Sarwar Ahmedzai is a citizen 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 ...

who was a presidential candidate in 2009 and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Presidential Candidates - List of Nominees
He served as Deputy National Security Advisor to 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 ...

until the overthrow of his government by

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 ...

Academic career

Sarwar Ahmedzai was born in the Logar Province of Afghanistan. At the age of 7, his family moved to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

due to the Soviet-Afghan war. He completed his education in Pakistan. At the age of 16, Ahmedzai was the first Afghan refugee to be sent to the U.S. as a foreign exchange student, and graduated from a high school in Virginia. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at Edwards College,

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

from the

University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pa ...

. He received a law degree from the University of Peshawar's Law College. During his time at Peshawar University, Ahmedzai was elected central chairman of the Afghan Students Union (ASU) in 1990, and served until 1996. According to a profile prepared by the ''

Pajhwok Afghan News , logo = , image = , image_size = , type = Independent news agency , headquarters = Kabul, Afghanistan , language = English, Dari, Pashto , founded = 2003 , founder = Danish Karokhel , ...

'', under his leadership, the organization aided thousands of Afghan students with books. Ahmedzai led two delegations to Afghanistan, in 1993 and 1994, to try to mediate between the warring factions

Burhanuddin Rabbani Burhānuddīn Rabbānī (Persian: ; 20 September 1940 – 20 September 2011) was an Afghanistani politician and teacher who served as President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 (in exile from 1996 to 2001). Born in the Badakhshan Province, Ra ...

and

Gulbadin Hekmatyar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ( ps, ګلب الدين حكمتيار; born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called ...

, in the civil war that followed the overthrow of the communist regime in 1992. Rabbani and Hekmatyar were then the nominal president and nominal prime minister of a fractured Afghanistan.

Political career

Ahmedzai served on the first

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 ...

to follow the overthrow of the

in 2002. According to the ''Pajhwok Afghan News'' profile, he served as a coalition builder in the Loya Jirga. According to the ''Pajhwok Afghan News'' profile he drafted an important "Afghanistan Country Report – 2009". During the 2009 presidential elections he stood 6th in a field of 38.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmedzai, Sarwar Living people Afghan politicians 1971 births Afghan expatriates in Pakistan Pashtun politicians Edwardes College alumni University of Peshawar alumni