Wais Barmak
Wais Ahmad Barmak is the current Minister for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs of Afghanistan.[1] He previously was Rural Rehabilitation and Development minister.
He was born in 1972 in Kabul, Afghanistan and graduated with honours from the Department of Architecture, Kabul University. He then went on to receive an MSc degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.[2] In the 1990s he started working as a field assistant of the ICRC and as a program officer at the Agency Co-ordinating Body for Afghan Relief and later as a program officer of UNAMA.[2]
He was Senior Advisor to the Department of Disaster Management and Preparedness and became a high-level civil servant in the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) in 2004 whe he was subsequently Senior Advisor on Capacity Development and Programmes, Senior Advisor/Chief Coordinator of the National Rural Access Programme and Executive Director of the National Solidarity Program. From 2008 onwards he was Deputy Minister of Programmes at the MRRD.[3]
He is said to be an ally of former vice-president Mohammad Fahim. He was nominated for the position of Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in January 2010, but his nomination was rejected by the Lower House of Parliament and instead Jarullah Mansouri got the job. Two years later however, Karzai put his name forth again for the position of minister of and this time his nomination was approved.
Under his leadership, tha National Solidarity Program of the ministry supported 70,000 rural infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, retaining walls, protection walls, irrigation schemes, the schools, clinics.[4]
When the Second Karzai administration was replaced by the National Unity Government led by Ashraf Ghani in 2014, Barmak became the President's Special Representative on Humanitarian Affairs[5] and advisor to the president in the North Zone, tasked to evaluate performance of officials and government agencies and fight corruption.[6]
In October 2015 Barmak became minister again, when he was appointed to lead the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, which was being upgraded to ministry.[7]
References
- ↑ "Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining: H.E. Wais Barmak, Afghanistan State Minister for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs addresses GICHD panel". Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- 1 2 "Barmak, Wais Ahmad Eng.". www.afghan-bios.info. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ↑ "Wais Ahmad Barmak | HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ↑ "Grants To Rural Afghan Villages Pays off". WFAE. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ↑ "Afghanistan: Opportunity in Crisis: Wais Ahmad Barmak". Chatham House. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ↑ "Corrupt Badakhshan officials to be sacked: Barmak". www.pajhwok.com. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ↑ MOOSAKHAIL, ZABIHULLAH (October 21, 2015). "Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) upgraded to ‘Ministry’". www.khaama.com. Retrieved 2017-05-21.