Ali Ahmad Jalali

Ali Ahmad Jalali (born 1940) is an Afghan American and a Distinguished Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies of the United States' National Defense University. He is also a former Interior Minister of Afghanistan, serving in that position from January 2003 to September 2005.

Jalali was born in Afghanistan in 1940. He has been involved in politics and media for most of his life. He previously served with the Voice of America for over 20 years covering Afghanistan, South and Central Asia, and the Middle East, including assignments as Director of the Afghan Radio Network Project and chief of the Pashto and Dari services.

He is a former colonel in the Afghan National Army and was a top military planner with the Afghan resistance following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He attended higher command and staff colleges in Afghanistan, the United States, Britain, and Russia, and has lectured widely.

A U.S. citizen since 1987, Jalali left his job as a broadcaster for VOA to become the Interior Minister of Afghanistan. Jalali replaced Taj Mohammad Wardak in January 2003. Prior to joining the Afghan government, Jalali lived with his family in suburban Maryland. His family remains there. He has a son, 36, and a daughter, 31.

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