Amrullah Saleh

Amrullah Saleh, born on October fifteenth, nineteen seventy-two, is a prominent Afghan politician known for his significant roles in the country's tumultuous political landscape. He served as the first vice president of Afghanistan from February twenty twenty to August twenty twenty-one, and previously held the position of acting interior minister from two thousand eighteen to two thousand nineteen. His political journey began as a member of the mujahideen during the civil war against Afghanistan's communist regime, later aligning with Ahmad Shah Massoud's Northern Alliance, a coalition opposing the Taliban.

In nineteen ninety-seven, Saleh took on the role of head of the Northern Alliance's liaison office at the Afghan Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where he managed relationships with international NGOs and intelligence agencies. His tenure as the head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) from two thousand four to two thousand ten was marked by efforts to infiltrate the Taliban and locate Osama bin Laden. However, he resigned from the NDS in two thousand ten due to deteriorating relations with President Hamid Karzai, subsequently founding Basej-e Milli, a pro-democracy and anti-Taliban political party.

In March two thousand seventeen, Saleh was appointed State Minister for Security Reforms by President Ashraf Ghani, a position he held until his resignation in June of the same year. He became the acting Minister of Interior Affairs in December two thousand eighteen but stepped down less than a month later to run as Ghani's vice presidential candidate in the two thousand nineteen election, which they won, leading to his inauguration as first vice president on February twenty-fifth, twenty twenty.

Saleh has been a formidable political figure in Afghanistan, known for his outspoken criticism of the Taliban and Pakistan, and has survived numerous assassination attempts. Following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on August fifteenth, twenty twenty-one, he relocated to the Panjshir Valley, where he declared himself the caretaker president of Afghanistan and expressed his support for the National Resistance Front, an anti-Taliban movement led by Ahmad Massoud. After the Taliban seized control of Panjshir on September sixth, twenty twenty-one, Saleh fled to Tajikistan, continuing to advocate for the NRF from exile, despite lacking international recognition for his presidential claim.