Ashraf Ghani - Updated Apr 2024

Ashraf Ghani is a well-known Afghan ex-politician, academic, and economist. Ashraf Ghani governed Afghanistan as president from September 2014 until the Taliban overthrew his administration in August 2021.

Early Life and Childhood

Ashraf Ghani was born on May 19, 1949, in the Logar Province, the Kingdom of Afghanistan. His age is currently 74 years old. He was born to his parents Shah Pesand (father) and Kawbaba Lodin (mother). Ghani has also a sibling brother named Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai. Likewise, his father is a clerk worker and his mother is a housewife. He holds Afghan nationality and is of a Middle Eastern ethnic background. According to his birthdate, he was born under the sun sign Taurus.

Education

Most of his elementary schooling was completed in Afghanistan. He received his secondary education in Kabul. However, Ghani attended Lake Oswego High School (LOHS) in Lake Oswego, Oregon, during the 1966–1967 academic year as a foreign exchange student under the name Ashraf Ahmad. His time abroad was funded by the American Field Service. He participated in student government.

He graduated from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon with a Bachelor of Arts in political studies in 1973. Ghani worked as a professor at Kabul University from 1973 to 1977, as well as at Aarhus University in Denmark in 1977. On a government scholarship, he graduated with a Master’s in cultural anthropology from Columbia University in 1977.

Ghani had meant to stay for two years, but the start of the 1978 Saur Revolution resulted in the imprisonment of the majority of his male family members. He remained at Columbia, where in 1983 he earned a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology. ‘Production and domination: Afghanistan, 1747-1901’ was the title of his doctoral research paper. Conrad M. Arensberg, Richard Bulliet, Morton Fried, and Robert F. Murphy served as his thesis advisors.

Career before coming back to Afghanistan (1983-2001)

Academic Career (1983-1991)

After receiving his Ph.., he taught briefly at the University of California, Berkeley in 1983 before serving as an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University from 1983 to 1991. His studies focused on social change and state-building. He finished a year of fieldwork studying Pakistani madrassas in 1985 while working as a Fulbright Scholar.

World Bank (1991-2001)

Ghani was appointed Lead Anthropologist at the World Bank in 1991. He worked on several projects for five years during this time in China, India, and Russia. After the middle of the 1990s, he shifted to developing reform programs, reviewing country plans, and contributing to the Bank’s social policy. He participated in the World Bank-Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard-INSEAD leadership development programs while employed by the Bank.

Back to Afghanistan (2001-2013)

After leaving Afghanistan for 24 years, he eventually went back in December 2001. Ghani rose to prominence in the Afghan Interim Administration following the Taliban’s downfall in that year, which lasted from December 2001 to July 2002.

To serve as Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi’s special adviser at the UN, the UN Secretary General’s special representative to Afghanistan, he quit his job at the World Bank. The Bonn Agreement, which detailed the post-Taliban government of Afghanistan, was designed and put into effect while he was in this position. He also served Hamid Karzai, who was then the interim president, as his chief adviser during this time. As he prepared for the Loya Jirgas who ultimately chose Karzai, he approved the constitution.

Minister of Finance (2002-2004)

Ghani was appointed finance minister of the new Transitional Afghan Government, headed by President Karzai, on June 2, 2002. This administration served until 2004 when a “fully representative government” was to take its place.

He implemented several significant reforms, such as the creation of a new currency, computerization of treasury operations, establishment of a single treasury account, adoption of a policy of balanced budgets, and the use of budgets as the primary tool for implementing policy, centralization of revenue collection, reform of tariffs, and overhaul of customs.

To improve transparency and accountability, he established regular reporting to the cabinet, the general public, and international stakeholders. He additionally directed that donors concentrate their efforts on three sectors while preparing a development strategy that would hold Afghans more responsible for their future development. He helped with the National Solidarity Program, which included 13,000 of the 20,000 or so villages that are thought to exist in the nation.

Chairman of Transition Coordination Commission (2010-2013)

He headed the Afghan Transition Coordination Commission (TCC) from 2010 to 1 October 2013, which was in charge of transferring authority from ISAF/NATO forces to Afghan Security Forces. During this period, he made significant travels throughout Afghanistan.

Ghani attended the International Conference on Afghanistan in London on January 28, 2010, where he expressed his support for the effort to rebuild that nation. As support for Karzai’s reconciliation approach, Ghani gave Karzai his views as an illustration of the value of collaboration among Afghans and with the international community.

Ghani claimed that observing Karzai’s second presidential address in November 2009 and his commitments to prevent corruption, advance peace, and displace foreign security personnel convinced him to provide a hand. To compete for president in 2014, he left his position on October 1st, 2013.

Presidency (2014-2021)

Sarwar Danish, a Hazara and former justice minister in Karzai’s cabinet, and General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a well-known Uzbek politician, and former military official, were chosen by Ghani as his vice presidential candidates after he declared his candidacy for the 2014 elections. Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the two front-runners from the first round, competed in the run-off election. It was held on June 14, 2014, after none of the candidates were able to collect more than 50% of the vote in the first round.

Caption: Ashraf Ghani was captured on one of his programs
Source: News18

Initial results from the run-off elections indicated that Ghani was the clear favorite to win. However, claims of electoral fraud led to a deadlock, violent threats, and the establishment of a parallel government by Abdullah Abdullah’s campaign.

On August 7, 2014, US Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Kabul to mediate a deal that called for a thorough review of nearly 8 million votes and the formation of a national unity government. And the creation of a new position for the CEO, who would perform significant duties within the president’s administration.

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The Independent Election Commission declared Ghani as president after a three-month audit process that was overseen by the United Nations and funded by the U.S. government. Ghani had already committed to a national unity agreement. The election commission initially declared that it would not formally release particular results. Later, it issued a statement claiming that Ghani received 55.4% of the vote and Abdullah Abdullah received 43.5%, but it opted not to disclose the specific vote totals.

Since the establishment of the Durrani Empire in 1747, Ghani, who is now 65 years old, has been the oldest Afghan king to take office. He surpassed Mohammed Daoud Khan to become the oldest president in office when he was re-elected in 2019 at the age of 70.

Political Views

Ghani is a progressive modernist who aspires to “transform Afghanistan from a tribal, patronage-based society to a modern technocratic state”. Both King Amanullah Khan, a progressive Afghan king in the 1920s, and General Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan, a former Afghan prime minister and the country’s first president of the Republic of Afghanistan in the 1970s, greatly admired him.

Controversy

The Uzbek population of Afghanistan became furious by Ashraf Ghani’s controversial comments concerning Timur and Muhammad of Ghor on February 2, 2020. He said that as he spoke on history, culture, and national identity to a group of Afghan youngsters. According to Ghani, Genghis Khan destroyed the irrigation system in the northern regions while Muhammad of Ghor ruined the country’s central irrigation system.

The Turkic conqueror Amir Timur was also referred to by Ghani by the Persian nickname “Timur Lang” (Timur the Lame). It was claimed that Timur destroyed the irrigation system for the districts of Sistan, Farah, and Helmand. Experts claim that his comments about Timur offended Uzbeks and the Uzbek community in Afghanistan condemned him for them.

Following his comments, citizens of the province of Faryab protested and demanded Ashraf Ghani’s apologies. If Ghani refused to retract his words, the protesters threatened to take drastic action. Ashraf Ghani was also asked to apologize by Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former vice president of Afghanistan and member of the Uzbek ethnic group.

The National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan’s spokesperson, Bashir Ahmad Tahyanj, claimed that “Ghani has a personal tendency towards historical figures, honorable ethnicities, the history, and culture of the people who reside in Afghanistan. He has done this before. The Afghan government palace, however, defended Ghani’s comments in a statement, saying that “what Ghani said about Timur was not offensive or insulting.”

Ashraf Ghani – Personal Life

As for his marital status, Ashraf is a married man. He tied the knot with Rula Sadee, who was born into a Lebanese Christian family. They met for the first time during their studies at the American University of Beirut in 1970. Their marriage took place in 1975. The couple is the parents of two children, a daughter, Mariam Ghani, and a son, Tarek Ghani. Likewise, his daughter is a professional visual artist and his son is a foreign policy advisor.

Caption: Ashraf Ghani with his wife, Rula
Source: NBC News

They eventually relocated to the country and attained citizenship there. But to participate in the 2009 Afghan elections, Ghani gave up his American citizenship. At his presidential inauguration in 2014, Ghani made a first-ever gesture for an Afghan politician by publicly thanking his wife and referring to her by her Afghan name, Bibi Gul. He remarked, “I want to thank Bibi Gul, my partner, for supporting me and Afghanistan. She has always been a supporter of Afghan women, and I hope she stays that way.

After being diagnosed with cancer in the 1990s, Ghani lost the majority of his stomach. Ghani is supposed to get up before five every morning and read for two to three hours.

Ashraf Ghani – Net Worth 2024

Ashraf Ghani has earned a hefty amount of money throughout his political career. He has a net worth of $5 million as of 2024. He is living a lavish life with his family in the USA.

Social Media

Reflecting on his social media presence, he is active on Facebook and Twitter. His Facebook account ‘Ashraf Ghani’ has more than 2.8 million followers to date. Likewise, he joined Twitter in June 2009 and has gained more than 1.1 million followers on his ‘@ashrafghani’ account.

Ashraf Ghani – Body Measurements

Coming to his physical appearance, Ashraf Ghani has a fit and well-maintained body personality. He stands at a height of 5 feet 7 inches and a weight of 72kg. However, there are no details about his body size, dress size, waist size, and so on. He has a pair of Dark brown eyes and is a bald man with no hair. He is a white-beard man.

Caption: Ashraf Ghani posing for a photo
Source: Spiegel