Abdullah Abdullah

Abdullah Abdullah
عبدالله عبدالله
Abdullah in 2017
Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation
In office 17 May 2020 – 15 August 2021[1]
President	Ashraf Ghani
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Chief Executive of Afghanistan
In office 29 September 2014 – 11 March 2020
President	Ashraf Ghani
Deputy	Khyal Mohammad Mohammad Khan Mohammad Mohaqiq
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 22 December 2001 – 20 April 2005
President	Hamid Karzai
Preceded by	Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai
Succeeded by	Rangin Dadfar Spanta
Leader of the National Coalition of Afghanistan
In office 18 March 2010 – 15 August 2021
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Abdullah (1960-09-05) 5 September 1960 (age 63)[citation needed] Kārte Parwān, Kabul, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Political party	National Coalition of Afghanistan (1996–2021)
Spouse	Fakhria Abdullah ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Kabul University (MBBS)
Website	drabdullahabdullah.com

Abdullah Abdullah (Dari/Pashto: عبدالله عبدالله, Dari pronunciation: [abdʊlˈlɒː abdʊlˈlɒː]; born as Abdullah on 5 September 1960) is a Pashtun Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government was overthrown by the Taliban.^[1][2][3] The council had been established to facilitate peace talks between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban insurgents. Abdullah served as the Chief Executive of Afghanistan from September 2014 to March 2020,^[4][5][6] and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 2001 to April 2005. Prior to that, he was a senior member of the Northern Alliance, working as an adviser to Ahmad Shah Massoud.^[7] He worked as an ophthalmologist and medical doctor in the 1980s.

Abdullah ran against President Hamid Karzai in the 2009 Afghan presidential election, coming second with 30.5% of the total votes. In 2010, he created the Coalition for Change and Hope, which became the National Coalition of Afghanistan in 2011^[8] and is one of the leading democratic opposition movements in Afghanistan.^[9][10] He ran again in the 2014 presidential election and went to the second round with 45% the total vote.^[11] His closest rival, Ashraf Ghani, had secured 35% of the total vote.^[11] Due to signs of fraud, the results of the second round were heavily contested and led to a deadlock.^[12][13] Despite the controversy regarding the results of the second round of elections, the final certified result by the Independent election commission of Afghanistan shows that Ashraf Ghani received 55.3% of the votes while Abdullah Abdullah secured 44.7% of the vote.^[14] After months of talks and US mediation, the two candidates established a national unity government in which Abdullah served as the Chief Executive of Afghanistan.^[15][16]

Following the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 17 August 2021, leader of the Taliban-affiliated Hezb-e-Islami party Gulbuddin Hekmatyar met with Abdullah and Karzai in Doha, seeking to form a government.^[17][18] Reports emerged on 25 August that a 12-member council will be formed to govern the de facto newly reinstated Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Reportedly 7 members were already agreed upon: Abdullah himself, Karzai, Hekmatyar, Abdul Ghani Baradar, Mohammad Yaqoob, Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, and Hanif Atmar.^[19] However, it was later announced that Abdullah Abdullah and Karzai had failed to secure roles in the new government.