Hedayat Amin Arsala
| Hedayat Amin Arsala هدايت امين ارسلا |
|
|---|---|
Hedayat Amin Arsala speaking at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan
|
|
| Born | January 12, 1942 |
| Nationality | Afghan |
| Citizenship | Afghanistan |
| Education | PhD in Economics |
| Alma mater | Southern Illinois University, George Washington University |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Years active | 1969 to Present |
| Employer | Government of Afghanistan |
| Home town | Kabul |
| Political party | National Islamic Front of Afghanistan |
Hedayat Amin Arsala (Pashto: هدايت امين ارسلا) (born January 12, 1942), is an economist and a prominent politician in Afghanistan. Mr. Arsala is a former Vice President of Afghanistan, Finance Minister and Foreign Minister and until October 2013 was the Senior Minister of the Republic of Afghanistan, appointed by the President Hamid Karzai.
An ethnic Pashtun, Arsala grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he attended high school. He completed his BA and MA in Economics, also focusing on international relations, at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in the United States of America. He also completed the course work and qualifying exams for a PhD in Economics at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. In May 2008, SIU conferred an honorary doctorate on Arsala for his distinguished services to Afghanistan.
In 1969, Hedayat Amin-Arsala was the first Afghan to join the World Bank (WB) through the Young Professional Program. He served there for 18 years in several economic and senior operational posts. Active in the resistance against the Soviet occupation since 1979, he left the WB in 1987 to participate full-time in the Afghan struggle. He was a founding member of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (NIFA), led by Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani, and a member of the Supreme Council of Mujahideen Unity (formed in February 1980). He served as the Finance Minister in the Afghan Interim Government (AIG) in exile from 1989 to 1992.
When the Soviets withdrew and there was a subsequent regime change in Afghanistan, Arsala was appointed as the Foreign Minister of the newly formed Mujahideen coalition government in early 1993. He withdrew from that post in 1995 due to infighting and political disagreement amongst some Mujahideen groups.
...
Wikipedia