Akhtar Mansoor

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour ملا اختر محمد منصور
Akhtar Mansour is seen here in a photo taken in Frankfurt, Germany, during 1998.
Supreme leader of the Taliban
In office 29 July 2015 – 21 May 2016
Preceded by	Mohammed Omar
Succeeded by	Hibatullah Akhundzada
Governmental offices
In office as Minister of Civil Aviation for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from September 1996 – 2001
Personal details
Born	1968 (otherwise) Karize, Band Taimor, Maywand District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Died	21 May 2016
Alma mater	Darul Uloom Haqqania
Religion	Deobandi Sunni Islam
Military service
Allegiance	Mujahideen Islamic and National Revolution Movement of Afghanistan (1980's–1992) Hezb-e Islami Khalis (1980's–1992) Taliban (1995–2016)
Years of service	1985–1992 1995–2016
Rank	Supreme commander
Battles/wars	Soviet-Afghan War Afghan Civil War War in Afghanistan (2001–2014)

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour (Pashto: اختر محمد منصور‎; /ɑːktɑː mɑːnsʊər/ or /æktɑː mænsʊər/; c. 1968 – 21 May 2016) was the Emir (leader) of the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan, from 29 July 2015 to 21 May 2016.

On 21 May 2016, it was reported by a United States Department of Defense official that Mansour had been killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan. The official, who was not sanctioned to speak publicly about the attack, said Mansour and a second militant were believed killed when a drone hit a vehicle in which they were riding. The strike was approved by U.S. President Barack Obama, who said at the time, he hoped Mansour's removal would lead to the Taliban joining a peace process. The death of Mansour was later officially confirmed separately by the Afghan government, members of the Taliban, and President Obama. On 25 May 2016, Hibatullah Akhundzada was promoted to the top position in the Taliban.

Mansoor is thought to have been born either in a village named Kariz or another village named Band-i-Taimoor (source: I.E.A.), both of which are situated within the Maiwand District of Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan, sometime during the 1960s. The biography released by the Talibans' Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan website shows 1347 for his date of birth, which is according to the solar Hijri calendar, which corresponds to 1968. This year of birth is corroborated by S. Mehsud, of the C.T.C. West Point. According to Ahmed Rashid, Mansoor belonged to the Alizai tribe, but other sources claim that he was of the Ishaqzai tribe, in any case, both the Alizai and the Ishaqzai are of the Durrani line of the Pashtun people. Mullah Mansoor was educated at a village mosque and joined primary school at about the age of seven (source: I.E.A.).