Haneef Atmar
Mohammad Haneef Atmar (Pashto: محمد حنیف اتمر; born 10 September 1968) is an Afghan politician and former KhAD agent. He served as the Minister of interior until he was removed from the Ministry by Hamid Karzai in the wake of attacks on the June 2010 Afghan Peace Jirga. Before that he worked with several international humanitarian organisations and served as Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and Minister of Education. In 2011, he was part of the Right and Justice party. During his time in office, he has visited several countries to get funding to stabilise Afghanistan.
Mohammad Haneef Atmar | |
|---|---|
محمد حنیف اتمر | |
Atmar in meeting with Ali Shamkhani in Tehran, August 2016 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 4 April 2020 – 15 August 2021 Acting: 4 April 2020 – 4 February 2021 | |
| President | Ashraf Ghani |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Amir Khan Muttaqi (acting) |
| National Security Adviser of Afghanistan | |
| In office 1 November 2014 – 25 August 2018 | |
| President | Ashraf Ghani |
| Preceded by | Shaida Mohammad Abdali |
| Succeeded by | Hamdullah Mohib |
| Minister of Interior | |
| In office 11 October 2008 – 6 June 2010 | |
| President | Hamid Karzai |
| Preceded by | Ahmad Moqbel Zarar |
| Succeeded by | Bismillah Khan Mohammadi |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 2 May 2006 – 1 October 2008 | |
| President | Hamid Karzai |
| Preceded by | Noor Mohammad Qarqin |
| Succeeded by | Ghulam Farooq Wardak |
| Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development | |
| In office 2002–2008 | |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Ehsan Zia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 September 1968 Laghman, Afghanistan |
| Political party | PDPA (until 1992) Truth and Justice (since 2011) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Afghanistan |
| Branch/service | KhAD |
| Battles/wars |
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Atmar served as the National Security Advisor to Ashraf Ghani from 2014 to 2018, when he resigned due to disagreement with Ghani on certain issues. In late 2018, Atmar announced his candidacy for the April 2019 presidential elections, indicating he firmly believes a peace deal with the Taliban is possible. He later withdrew his candidature. On 4 April 2020, he was appointed as the acting foreign minister, and approved on a permanent basis by the Wolesi Jirga on 21 November 2020. He was sworn in on 4 February 2021. He fled to Turkey after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021.