Background to the Afghanistan Political System
Afghanistan covers an area of 650,000 square kilometers. For centuries, the Persian Empire rules in Afghanistan until 1747 when the Persian governance was toppled. In 1919, Afghans finally gained independence after the third war against the British forces. In 1989, Soveit troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
In 1996, the Taliban seized the capital and introduced a hard line Islamic law and declared Afghanistan an Islamic Emirate. After September 11th, 2001, the U.S. led forces were able to topped the Taliban regime and an interim authority was put into place. A transitional government that was led by Hamid Karzai was installed at the National Assembly in June of 2002.
The first presidential election was finally held in 2004, after a new constitution that adapted a U.S. style of presidency was ratified in January of that year.
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President: Hamid Karzai
Defense Minister: Abdul Rahim Wardak
