Mohammad Hanif Atmar

Early life Atmar was born in 1968 as son of Mohammad Asef Atmar in Laghman Province of Afghanistan to an aristocratic Pashtun family. As a young adult, he was part of one of many KHAD special operations units, KhAD being the Afghan security and intelligence agency with strong ties to the Soviet KGB. He speaks fluent Pashto, Dari, English, Urdu, and Hindi. As head of a ministry that was considered a key consumer of international funds, his task entailed providing food security for the rural population, safe drinking water, alternatives for the drug-economy and building the necessary infrastructure for the economy in rural areas to develop.

Minister of Education In May 2006, Atmar was sworn in as the Minister of Education after being approved by an overwhelming majority of the National Assembly.

He was a member of the Presidential Oversight Committee.

Minister of Interior Atmar with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and U.S. Navy admiral Michael Mullen at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In October 2008, Atmar was sworn in as the Minister of Interior after being approved by a majority of the National Assembly.

Later career When the Truth and Justice party was founded in 2011, he became a member of the party.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Atmar was appointed the acting minister of foreign affairs by President Ashraf Ghani on 4 April 2020. Ghani also nominated him as minister on permanent basis, pending approval by the National Assembly. His nomination was approved by 197 of the 246 lawmakers present in the Wolesi Jirga on 21 November, with 24 opposing, nine votes being blank and 16 being invalid. He was sworn in on 4 February 2021.

Works Development of Non-Governmental Organisations in Developing Countries (with Arne Strand and Sultan Barakat) Humanitarian Aid, War and Peace in Afghanistan: What to Learn? Politics and Humanitarian Aid in Afghanistan and its Aftermath for the People of Afghanistan Afghanistan or a Stray War in Afghanistan. The Challenge of Winning the Peace, chapter written together with Jonathan Goodhand. published in: Searching for Peace in Central and South Asia, 2002