I.

Introduction

Hamid Karzai, born in 1957, first president of Afghanistan, elected in 2004 in the country’s first popular election of a leader. Serving as the country’s transitional head of state since June 2002, Karzai had been responsible for preparing the country for the election. Previously, he had served as Afghanistan’s interim prime minister since December 2001, when the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime collapsed.