Hibatullah Akhundzada

Hibatullah Akhundzada (Pashto: هبت الله اخونزادهcode: ps is deprecated ; Arabic: هبة الله أخوند زاده also spelled Haibatullah Akhunzada; born 19 October 1967) is an Afghan Islamic scholar, cleric, and jurist who is the 2nd and the current Supreme Leader of Afghanistan since 2021 and the third leader of the Taliban since 2016 where a drone strike killed his predecessor, Akhtar Mansour.

His Excellency Amir al-Mu'minin Mullah Mawlawi Sheikh al-Hadith Hibatullah Akhundzada
هبت الله اخندزاده‎
2nd Supreme Leader of Afghanistan
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 August 2021
Prime Minister	Hasan Akhund (acting) Abdul Kabir (acting)
Preceded by	Ashraf Ghani (as President) Mohammed Omar (as Supreme Leader)
Leader of the Taliban
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 May 2016 Acting: 21–25 May 2016
Deputy	Sirajuddin Haqqani Mullah Yaqoob Abdul Ghani Baradar
Preceded by	Akhtar Mansour
Deputy Leader of the Taliban
In office 29 July 2015 – 25 May 2016
Leader	Akhtar Mansour
Preceded by	Akhtar Mansour
Succeeded by	Sirajuddin Haqqani
2nd Chief Justice of the Taliban
In office c. 2001 – 25 May 2016
Leader	Mohammed Omar Akhtar Mansoor
Preceded by	Noor Mohammad Saqib
Succeeded by	Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai
Justice of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan
In office c. 1996 – c. 2001
Leader	Mohammed Omar
Chief Justice of the Judiciary of Kandahar Appellate Court
In office c. 1995 – c. 2001
Leader	Mohammed Omar
Personal details
Born	(1967-10-19) 19 October 1967 Nakhuni, Panjwayi District, Kandahar Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Residence	Kandahar
Ethnicity	Pashtun
Religion	Sunni Islam
Movement	Deobandi
Political affiliation	Taliban
Military service
Allegiance	Afghanistan
Branch/service	Hezb-i Islami Khalis Taliban
Rank	Judicial officer
Commands	Justice on the Military Court for Kandahar Chief Justice of the Military Court for Eastern Nangarhar Chief Justice of the Supreme Military Court
Battles/wars	Soviet–Afghan War Afghan Civil War (1996–2001) War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Since the Fall of Kabul in August 2021, Akhundzada became Afghanistan's Supreme Leader with absolute powers over the country.

In 2020, he sended Abdul Ghani Baradar to Doha to hold peace talks with the U.S. by meeting the then-U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo where they signed the US–Taliban Deal which made the U.S agree to Withdraw its Troops from Afghanistan.

Akhundzada also held a phone conversation with then-U.S. President, Donald Trump the same year where they agreed to have diplomatic relationships with the two countries if Trump won the election even though it never happened as Trump lost the election.

In 2022, Akhundzada has called the world to recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan and not the government of Ashraf Ghani. Many countries had agreed to recodnize the Taliban government with most of the Middle East and the Arab Countries and as well as Pakistan, China, and Russia who all not only recognize the Taliban government, but also engaged diplomatically with the Taliban. The U.S and many other Western countries are also expected to engage with the Taliban soon even though they have already recognize the Taliban government.

Hibatullah Akhundzada Media

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  Calligraphic depiction of Akhundzada's name used on Afghan government websites

Bibliography

• Burnett, M. Troy (2020). Nationalism Today: Extreme Political Movements Around the World [2 Volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1440850004.