Afghan state, political and party figure Hafizullah Amin: biography, features of activities and interesting facts

Hafizullah Amin is one of the most ambiguous personalities in the history of Afghanistan. Many believe it was his main culprit in the chain of wars in the country, which began in 1979 and continues to this day, while others, on the contrary, think that he is a victim of intrigue. So who was Hafizullah Amin? Biography of the Prime Minister of Afghanistan and will be the subject of our study.

Birth and young years

Hafizullah Amin was born in August 1929 in the province of Paghman near Kabul, in the kingdom of Afghanistan. His father was the head of one of the prisons of the country. He came from a tribe of Pashtun-Gilzais from the Haruti clan.

After graduating from school, Khafizullah Amin entered the pedagogical school. After completing his studies there, he did not stop. Amin successfully graduated from Kabul University and received a bachelor's degree in physics.

Then he began to teach at the Moscow Lyceum, where he systematically moved up the career ladder. Amin moved relatively quickly from a simple teacher to a director.

In order to improve his qualification level, Amin continued his studies in the USA, at Columbia University. He entered there at the age of thirty.

First steps in politics

Studying at the university, Hafizullah Amin showed a fairly high level of knowledge, led the Afghan community, and also for the first time became closely acquainted with Marxist ideas. A little later he became a member of the Progressive Socialist Club. Although, according to some Soviet experts, it was at that time that he was recruited by the CIA.

In 1965, after receiving a master's degree and returning to Afghanistan, Hafizullah Amin began to actively engage in social activities. He teaches at the university in Kabul. Although he gained the reputation of a Pashtun nationalist, in 1966 Amin became a member of a Marxist organization led by leader Nur Mohammad Taraki, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, founded the year before.

In 1967, the party actually split into two factions - Khalq, whose leader was Taraki, and Parcham, headed by Babrak Karmal. The Khalq faction relied mainly on ethnic Pashtuns, village residents, the main electorate of Parcham was the multinational urban population. In addition, supporters of "Khalq" differed more radical views. It was in this fact that Amin appeared. However, already in 1968, at the meeting of the Khalk faction, his status was lowered to the status of candidate for joining the PDPA. Officially, this step was justified by the excessively nationalistic views of Amin.

But already in 1969 Amin, along with a number of other members of the PDPA, took part in the parliamentary elections. Moreover, he was the only representative of both factions, who was still elected to the lower house of parliament.

Revolutionary events

In July 1973, there were events that triggered the mechanism of radical transformation in the country, which eventually resulted in a protracted civil war. It was then that the overthrow of King Mohammed Zahir-shah who visited Moscow in 1933, his cousin and former Prime Minister of Afghanistan Mohammad Daoud, who organized the military coup, was overthrown. Daoud abolished the monarchy and actually established a personal dictatorship, although formally assumed the post of president. The leadership of the PDPA supported the coup. Not having broad support among the masses of the population, Daud was forced to seek support from this party. Especially he approached the wing of the "Parcham".

But soon the relationship between Daoud and PDPA went wrong, as the president banned all political parties, except his own - the Party of the National Revolution. Meanwhile, in 1977, with the mediation of the USSR, the two wings of the PDPA were again united into a single party, although the factional division was not completely eliminated. The General Secretary was elected Taraki, and Amin entered the Central Committee of the Party. At the same time, it was decided to prepare the overthrow of President Daoud.

In April 1978, the Saur revolution took place, as a result of which Muhammad Daoud was displaced and soon executed, and the leadership of the country was captured by the PDPA party with the support of the military. Officially, the country became known as the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The head of state is Taraki, who occupies the highest positions - the Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and the Prime Minister of the country. Another member of the "Parcham" faction, Babrak Karmal, becomes deputy chairman of the revolutionary council. Amin receives the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In March 1979, Taraki, remaining head of state, as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, resigns from the prime minister and hands them over to Hafizullah Amin.

Rise to power

But as soon as the revolutionaries came to power, conflicts began to arise between their various groups. Repression began both against the opposition forces and against those groups inside the party that did not share the general line. In particular, the members of the "Parcham" faction suffered most. But inside the faction "Khalq" not everything was smooth. First of all, personal animosity broke out between Taraki and Amin, which was fueled by the personal ambitions of the latter. Eventually, after a shootout between the bodyguards of these politicians in September 1979, Amin, who was the Defense Minister from July of the same year, ordered the military to take control of the main government facilities.

At an extraordinary plenum of the party, Taraki was accused of trying to kill Amin, usurping power and establishing a cult of personality. After his conviction, the former leader of Afghanistan was strangled by the order of Amin. From the people for the first time concealed the essence of what was happening, announcing that Taraki died because of illness.

After the removal of Taraki, since September 16, 1979, Amin became Secretary General of the PDPA and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, while at the same time remaining, as before, the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

Death

Having come to power, Amin not only did not ease repression, but even strengthened them, surpassing the previous leaders of the country. This he set against himself not only the members of the "Parcham" faction, but also many members of the wing "Khalq". Feeling that he is losing control, it was Amin who first put forward the idea of attracting a military contingent of the Soviet Union to stabilize the situation in the country.

But the government of the USSR decided not to support Amin, because he considered him unreliable, and the leader of the faction "Parcham" Babrak Karmal, who was an agent of the KGB. As a result of an operation conducted by the special services of the USSR, on December 27, 1979 Khafizullah Amin was physically destroyed in his own palace

A family

Hafizullah Amin had a wife, a son and daughters. What happened to the family of the leader of Afghanistan, after Hafizullah Amin was killed? The children were also with their father during the storming of the palace. The son was killed, and one of the daughters is wounded. On the fate of survivors of the assault of Amin's family, nothing is known.

Interesting Facts

Immediately after the death of the leader of Afghanistan, the opinion spread that Hafizullah Amin is a traitor recruited by the CIA. In fact, there was not a single direct proof of Amin's connection with the American special services.

Despite the widespread opinion that Karmal offered the Soviet troops to Afghanistan, in fact Amin himself made such an initiative.

Evaluation of personality

We studied the description of the life that Hafizullah Amin lived. The biography of the President of Afghanistan shows that he was a rather ambiguous personality. In his character, patriotism was combined with careerism, the desire to establish social justice in the country was combined with repressive methods of policy, which set the public and political partners against Amin.

At the same time, Amin's accusations, in cooperation with the CIA or with other foreign special services, are not currently proven.