Shahmahmood Miakhel | |
---|---|
شاه محمود میاخېل | |
First Deputy/Acting Defense Minister | |
Acting | |
In office July 2020 – March 2021 | |
President | Ashraf Ghani |
Succeeded by | Mohammad Fazl |
Nangarhar | |
Gouverneur | |
In office February 2019 – July 2020 | |
President | Ashraf Ghani |
Preceded by | Hayatullah Hayat |
Succeeded by | Zia-Ul Haq Amarkhil |
Ministry of Interior Affairs (Afghanistan) | |
Deputy Minister of Interior | |
In office 28 January 2003 – 27 September 2005 | |
President | Hamid Karzai |
Minister | Ali Jalali |
Personal details | |
Born | Kunar, Afghanistan |
Citizenship | US citizen |
Children | 7 |
Awards | Wazir Akbar Khan medal |
Shahmahmood Miakhel (also spelled Shah Mahmood Miakhel; *01.05.1958 in Kunar, Afghanistan) ( Pashto: شاه محمود میاخېل) is an Afghan politician.
He was the appointed ambassador for Afghanistan to Qatar before the Taliban overthrew the government. [1] [2] During the reign of Ashraf Ghani, he was considered one of the most influential politicians. [3]
Miakhel earned his Master of Business Administration from Preston University in Pakistan. He also studied agriculture at Kabul University and completed a fellowship program at Stanford University on democracy, development and the rule of law. [4] He has been a member of numerous NGOs and government organizations, including UN sub-organizations. [5] [6]
From 2005 to 2009, he was governance advisor/head of the governance unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMA) for Afghanistan.
Miakhel first gained notoriety as Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Interior in 2003 to 2005. [7] [8] From September 2009 to February 2019, he served as Country Director at the United States Institute of Peace. He gained a high-profile [9] and popularity especially among the population [10] through the confidence [11] of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who appointed him as governor in Nangarhar. [12] [13]
Also during his time in Nangarhar, he succeeded in becoming the first governor in history [14] to ban and sanction foreign currencies. He banned the circulation of Pakistani rupees in Nangarhar after they had been used as Afghan currency in the local market for four decades. [15] Since December 12, 2019, it was forbidden to pay with Rupee or other to pay foreign currencies. [16] According to Afghan statistics, at the time, Nangarhar province was safer than it had ever been. [17] [18]
After his voluntary [19] resignation, he was tagged as deputy defense minister. [20] Due to a prolonged illness of the Defense Minister Asadullah Khalid, [21] Shahmahmood Miakhel became acting Minister of Defense. He served from March 11, 2021, to June 25, 2021, and resigned due to internal issues. [22] Miakhel was to be sent to Qatar as ambassador to also participate in the Taliban peace talks.
Miakhel is married with seven (4 boys and 3 girls) children and holds U.S. citizenship. Miakhel is known for engaging with citizens and critics on social media like Facebook on a daily basis and fighting corruption. [23] He advocates for women's rights [24] [25] and is an opponent of the current Afghan Taliban government. [26] He has survived several attacks. [27]