Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai

Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai
Prime Minister of the Northern Alliance
In office 11 August 1997 – 21 August 1997
President	Burhanuddin Rabbani
Preceded by	Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Succeeded by	Post abolished
Personal details
Born	1947
Died	21 August 1997 Bamyan, Afghanistan

Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai (d. August 21, 1997) was a politician and diplomat of Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun, a member of the Barakzai Mohammadzai tribe. During the 1970s he entered the Afghan foreign service. He was sent to the United States to represent the political administration supported by the Soviet Union. As the Ambassador to the UN, Mr. Ghafoorzai thought it his duty to call on the global partners to denounce the Soviet invasion in 1979. From then until 1992, he worked as a representative official to trigger international support against the regime that the Soviets had set up in Afghanistan. When the communist government fell in 1992, Ghafoorzai acted as an intermediary to unite the factions of Afghanistan. He worked in the United Nations until 1995, and then became deputy foreign minister. He became foreign minister in July 1996. in September 1996 the government troops withdrew from Kabul and the Taliban captured Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, The International community did not recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan legitimate government except Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the Islamic State of Afghanistan government established the new cabinet in Mazar e Sharif in the north of Afghanistan, meanwhile the Afghanistan Embassies and the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations was in control of Islamic State of Afghanistan as legitimate representative of Afghanistan. Ghafoorzai continued as Afghanistan Foreign Minister until August 11, 1997, just 10 days before his death, he was appointed prime minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan government. He was killed in a plane crash in Bamyan Province when he was going to negotiate to form his cabinet with their allies.

References

• Afghanistan Online - Abdul Ghafoorzai