Mohammad Daoud Khan

Sardar
Mohammad Daoud Khan
محمد داود خان
Daoud in 1975
1st President of Afghanistan
In office
17 July 1973 – 28 April 1978
Vice PresidentSayyid Abdullah[1]
Preceded byMohammad Zahir Shah (as King)
Succeeded byColonel Abdul Qadir (as chairman of the Revolutionary Council)
Head of House of Barakazai
In office
17 July 1973 – 28 April 1978
Preceded byMohammad Zahir Shah (as King)
Succeeded bySardar Prof. Abdul Khaliq Khan Telai
Prime Minister of Afghanistan
In office
7 September 1953 – 10 March 1963
MonarchMohammad Zahir Shah
Preceded byShah Mahmud Khan
Succeeded byMohammad Yusuf
Personal details
Born(1909-07-18)18 July 1909
Kabul, Emirate of Afghanistan
Died28 April 1978(1978-04-28) (aged 68)
Kabul, Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Manner of deathAssassination
Resting placenear Taj Beg hill
Political partyNational Revolutionary Party
Spouse(s)Princess Zamina Begum (cousin), sister of King Zahir Shah
Children7
Military service
AllegianceKingdom of Afghanistan Kingdom of Afghanistan
(1939–1973)
Afghanistan Republic of Afghanistan
(1973–1978)
Years of service1939–1978
RankGeneral
Battles/wars

Mohammad Daoud Khan (Pashto: محمد داود خان; also romanized as Daud Khan[2] or Dawood Khan;[3] 18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978) was an Afghan military officer, specifically the commander of the 1st Central Corps, and politician who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup d'état which overthrew the monarchy, served as the first president of Afghanistan from 1973 until his assassination in the Saur Revolution.[4]

Born into the Afghan royal family and addressed by the prefix "Sardar", Khan started as a provincial governor and later a military officer before being appointed as prime minister by his cousin, King Mohammad Zahir Shah, serving for a decade. Having failed to persuade the King to implement a one-party system, Khan overthrew the monarchy in a virtually bloodless coup with the backing of Afghan Army officers, and proclaimed himself the first president of the Republic of Afghanistan, establishing an autocratic one-party system under his National Revolutionary Party.

Khan was known for his autocratic rule,[5] and for his educational and progressive[6] social reforms.[7] Under his regime, he headed a purge of communists in the government, and many of his policies also displeased religious conservatives and liberals who were in favor of restoring the multiparty system that existed under the monarchy. Social and economic reforms implemented under his ruling were successful, but his foreign policy led to tense relations with neighboring countries. In 1978, he was deposed and assassinated during the 1978 Afghan coup d'état, led by the Afghan military and the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).[8][9] His body was discovered 30 years later and was identified by a small golden Quran gifted by King Khalid of Saudi Arabia he always carried. He received a state funeral.[10][11]

  1. ^ Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments / National Foreign Assessment Center. Apr–Jun 1978. 2003. hdl:2027/mdp.39015073049606 – via HathiTrust.
  2. ^ Mukerjee, Dilip (April 1975). "Afghanistan under Daud: Relations with Neighboring States". Asian Survey. 15 (4). University of California Press: 301–312. doi:10.2307/2643235. JSTOR 2643235.
  3. ^ "Statement on the attack on the Sardar Muhammad Dawood Khan hospital in Kabul". EEAS – European Commission.
  4. ^ "Nushin Arbabzadah: Sardar Daud Khan remembered". the Guardian. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference cjk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Mohammad Daoud as Prime Minister, 1953–63". Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Mohammad Daud Khan". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  8. ^ "State funeral for Afghan leader slain in '78 coup". The New York Times. 18 March 2009.
  9. ^ "An Afghan secret revealed brings end of an era". The New York Times. 1 February 2009.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference rfe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).