Mirwais Yasini

Mirwais Yasini
First Deputy Speaker of the House of the People
Incumbent
Assumed office 2013
Member of the House of the People for Nangarhar
Incumbent
Assumed office 2005
Personal details
Born	1962 (age 52–53) Kama, Afghanistan
Alma mater	International Islamic University
Occupation	Politician
Religion	Islam

Mirwais Yasini (born in 1962) is the current First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament. Following the Communist coup in 1978, Mirwais Yasini worked actively to combat the Soviet invasion, and went on to oppose the Taliban from 1993 to 2001 as a social and political activist. After the fall of the Taliban regime in 2002, Yasini began his political career as the Director of Foreign Relations and Economic Evaluation for Afghanistan's Ministry of Finance, and as a prominent member of the Emergency Loya Jirga, which met in Kabul. Since that time he has held several high-level political posts, including such titles as the First Deputy Speaker of the Constitutional Loya Jirga and Director General of the Counter Narcotics Department. In 2005, Yasini was elected to the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament, and became the leader of its largest parliamentary party.^[1] In March 2009, he announced his candidacy for Afghanistan's Presidential Elections in opposition to the sitting incumbent, President Hamid Karzai.^[2]

Family history and childhood years

Mirwais Yasini was born in 1962, in Kama district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan; his father, Abdul Sattar Yasini, was a respected Islamic academic and attorney. He attended primary and high school in Nangarhar, and became fluent in Pashto, Dari, Arabic, English and Urdu.^[3]

Involvement in the Soviet War in Afghanistan

After the Communist coup In 1978, Yasini and his family took refuge in Pakistan. From 1978-1979, Mr. Yasini was with the Afghan Mujahideen, and played an active role in driving the Soviets out of Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion.^[3] The Mujahideen were secretly supplied and funded by the United States.

Higher education

Mirwais Yasini received his LLB in Sharia and Law in 1991 from International University, Islamabad, Pakistan. In 1992, he was admitted to the Masters of Law program at International Islamic University and earned his degree in 1993.^[1]

Opposition to the Taliban

For a period of 8 years (1993–2001), Yasini worked in active opposition to the Taliban regime as a social and political activist. As a prominent member of the anti-Taliban movement Yasini built his most enduring political relationships.

The Post-Taliban Years

After the fall of the Taliban in 2002, Yasini was appointed as the first Director of the Red Cross in Nangarhar. Following this, Yasini was the Director of Foreign Relations and Economic Evaluation for the Ministry of Finance. Also in 2002, he was elected a member of the Emergency Loya Jirga, which met in Kabul.

In 2003, Mr. Yasini was appointed Director General of the Counter Narcotics Department of the National Security Council of Afghanistan. He was also an elected member of the Constitutional Loya Jirga and was elected as the first deputy speaker with the majority of votes. In 2005, Mr. Yasini was appointed Deputy Minister, Ministry of Counter Narcotics in the Government of Afghanistan.^[3]

Parliamentary work

In 2005, Yasini was elected to the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament as a representative of Nangarhar Province. He is currently the leader of the largest parliamentary party in the Afghanistan lower house, the Afghanistan Parliamentary Party, and the First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament.^[3]

Presidential bid

In March 2009, Mirwais Yasini announced his formal opposition to the Karzai government, and declared his intent to run in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential Elections, citing flagging public support for the Karzai presidency due to rampant corruption.^[4] In a formal statement, Yasini described his vision for the future of Afghanistan:

I envision a peaceful, democratic, developed, drug-free, prosperous, sovereign and united Afghanistan. My mission is to spread democratic principles, development, freedom, social justice, human rights, effective governance, while strengthening the rule of law in Afghanistan, and coexisting with our neighbors in peace with respect for international law and conventions... I will effectively mobilize constituencies such as the National Assembly, Provincial Councils, political societies (parties), Civil Society Groups (NGOs, associations, media), tribal shuras, the private sector (the business community), local leaders (Maliks, Khans, religious scholars), and former Jihadi leaders and moderate Taliban to work for the interests of Afghans as well as those of the international community.

- Mirwais Yasini, March 2009^[5]

Preliminary results place him fifth in a field of thirty-eight.^[6]

References