Rangin Dadfar Spanta

Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta (born 1954 in Herat) is the foreign minister of Afghanistan.

He was appointed to that position by Hamid Karzai during a cabinet reshuffle on March 21, 2006 and approved by the 249-seat lower house on April 20, 2006. He was previously the Senior Advisor on International Affairs to President Hamid Karzai.

Spanta was an ex-patriate for many years as he fled during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During his exile, he was a scholar and assistant professor of political science at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, at which time he also served as spokesperson for the Alliance for Democracy in Afghanistan, and was active in the German Green Party. Upon his return to Afghanistan, upon the fall of the Taliban, he taught briefly at the Kabul University. [ [http://www.afghanemb-canada.net/en/cabinet/#Spanta Cabinet Members Bio] "Afghanistan Embassy in Canada"]

On May 10, 2007 the Wolesi Jirga voted unsuccessfully (one vote was missing only)in non-confidence vote against him in connection with the issue of Afghan refugees and their pull out to Afghanistan. On May 12,2007 the Wolesi Jirga voted repeatedly and declared his minister status as removed. On June3, 2007 The Supreme Court of Afghanistan on request of prezident Hamid Karzai declared second voting as unlegal and confirmed R.D. Spanta as functional minister. Still there is a huge dispute about this issue between the Wolesi Jirga and Prezident.

ee also

* Waziristan War
* Waziristan accord

References