Back محمد نجيب الله Arabic محمد نجيب الله ARZ Mohammad Najibulá AST Məhəmməd Nəcibulla Azerbaijani Махамад Наджыбула Byelorussian Махамад Наджыбула BE-X-OLD Мохамед Наджибула Bulgarian মুহাম্মদ নজিবউল্লাহ Bengali/Bangla Mohammad Najibullah Catalan Muhammad Nadžíbulláh Czech
Mohammad Najibullah | |
|---|---|
محمد نجیبالله احمدزی | |
 Najibullah in 1991 | |
| General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan | |
| In office 4 May 1986 – 16 April 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Babrak Karmal |
| Succeeded by | Position disbanded |
| 5th President of Afghanistan | |
| In office 30 November 1987 – 16 April 1992 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Vice President | |
| Preceded by |
|
| Succeeded by | Abdul Rahim Hatif (acting) Burhanuddin Rabbani |
| Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council | |
| In office 30 September 1987 – 30 November 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Haji Mohammad Chamkani |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as president) |
| Government Security Service Agency (KHAD) | |
| In office 11 January 1980 – 21 November 1985 | |
| Leader | Babrak Karmal (as General Secretary) |
| Preceded by | Assadullah Amin |
| Succeeded by | Ghulam Faruq Yaqubi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 August 1947 Gardez, Kingdom of Afghanistan[5] |
| Died | 27 September 1996 (aged 49) Kabul, Afghanistan |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wound |
| Resting place | Gardez, Paktia, Afghanistan |
| Political party | PDPA (Parcham) Homeland Party (from 1990) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Habibia High School SJS Baramulla |
| Alma mater | Kabul University |
| Awards | Domestic: Hero of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Order of the Sun of Liberty Order of the Red Banner (Afghanistan) Order of the Saur Revolution Order of Friendship of Peoples (Afghanistan) Order For Gallantry (Afghanistan)Foreign:  Order of José Marti Order of Friendship of Peoples |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Afghanistan |
| Branch/service | _%E2%80%93_Army.svg){kind=small} Afghan Army KhAD |
| Years of service | 1965–1992 |
| Rank |  General |
| Battles/wars | |
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/Dari: محمد نجیبالله احمدزی, Pashto: [mʊˈhamad nad͡ʒibʊˈlɑ ahmadˈzai]; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996),[6] commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan military officer and politician who served as the fifth president of Afghanistan from 1987 until his resignation in April 1992, shortly after the Afghan mujahideen's takeover of Kabul. He was also the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) from 1986 to 1992. After a failed attempt to flee to India, Najibullah remained in Kabul, and lived in the United Nations headquarters until his assassination during the Taliban's first capture of Kabul in 1996.[7][8][9]
A graduate of Kabul University, Najibullah held different careers under the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Following the Saur Revolution and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Najibullah was a low profile bureaucrat. He was sent into exile as Ambassador to Iran during Hafizullah Amin's rise to power. He returned to Afghanistan following the Soviet intervention which toppled Amin's rule and placed Babrak Karmal as head of the state, the party and the government. During Karmal's rule, Najibullah became head of the KHAD, the Afghan equivalent of the Soviet KGB. He was a member of the Parcham faction led by Karmal. During Najibullah's tenure as KHAD head, it became one of the most brutally efficient governmental organs. Because of this, he gained the attention of several leading Soviet officials, such as Yuri Andropov, Dmitriy Ustinov and Boris Ponomarev. In 1981, Najibullah was appointed to the PDPA Politburo. In 1985, Najibullah stepped down as the state security minister to focus on PDPA politics; he had been appointed to the PDPA Secretariat. Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, also the last Soviet leader, was able to get Karmal to step down as PDPA General Secretary in 1986, and replace him with Najibullah. For a number of months, Najibullah was locked in a power struggle against Karmal, who still retained his post of Chairman of the Revolutionary Council. Najibullah accused Karmal of trying to wreck his policy of National Reconciliation, a series of efforts by Najibullah to end the conflict.
During his tenure as leader of Afghanistan, the Soviets began their withdrawal, and from 1989 until 1992, his government tried to solve the ongoing civil war without Soviet troops on the ground. While direct Soviet assistance ended with the withdrawal, the Soviet Union still supported Najibullah with economic and military aid, while Pakistan and the United States continued their support for the mujahideen. Throughout his tenure, he tried to build support for his government via the National Reconciliation reforms by distancing from socialism in favor of Afghan nationalism, abolishing the one-party state and letting non-communists join the government. He remained open to dialogue with the mujahideen and other groups, made Islam an official religion, and invited exiled businessmen back to re-take their properties.[10] In the 1990 constitution, all references to communism were removed and Islam became the state religion. For various reasons, such changes did not win Najibullah any significant support. Following the August Coup in Moscow[11] and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Najibullah was left without foreign aid. This, coupled with the internal collapse of his government (following the defection of general Abdul Rashid Dostum), led to his resignation in April 1992. In 1996, he was tortured and killed by the Taliban.
In 2017, the pro-Najibullah Watan Party was created as a continuation of Najibullah's party.[12]
- ^ National Foreign Assessment Center (1987). Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. p. 1. hdl:2027/uc1.c050186243.
- ^ Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: National Foreign Assessment Center, Central Intelligence Agency. 1988. p. 1. hdl:2027/osu.32435024019804.
- ^ a b c d e f National Foreign Assessment Center (1991). Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. p. 1. hdl:2027/osu.32435024019754.
- ^ a b c d e Whitaker, Joseph (December 1991). Whitaker's Almanac 1992 124. William Clowes. ISBN 978-0-85021-220-4.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
briwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ @muskanajibullah (6 August 2019). "Happy Birthday, #Aba. I remember this day when I was sick; you sat me on your lap & held me close. You knew what it…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
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dailytimes.com.pkwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "New Afghan leadership's 'national reconciliation' policy signals welcome changes". India Today. 28 February 1987.
- ^ "SOVIET 'COLLAPSE' SHIFTS THE AXIS OF GLOBAL POLITICS – The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
- ^ "The Ghost of Najibullah: Hezb-e Watan announces (another) relaunch – Afghanistan Analysts Network". www.afghanistan-analysts.org. 21 August 2017.