Asian & Middle Eastern Monarchs & Strongmen Codexery

Hafizullah Amin

Afghan revolutionary and communist head of state, assassinated in 1979.

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Hafizullah Amin

via Wikipedia: Hafizullah Amin · see source

Hafizullah Amin, born 1 August 1929 and killed on 27 December 1979, was a communist head of state of Afghanistan for just over three months starting in September 1979.[1] Amin's birth occurred on 1 August 1929 in the Qazi Khel village of Paghman, and his family background was Kharoti Ghilzai Pashtun.[2]

Life and work

Amin's career began with teaching after he studied at Kabul University; he subsequently traveled to the United States for study on two occasions.[3] In 1957 at Columbia University in New York City, Amin completed an MA in education; there he developed an interest in Marxism and joined the Socialist Progressive Club in 1958.[4] During the 1969 parliamentary election, Amin was the sole Khalqist candidate who won a seat in parliament.[5] Following the revolution, Amin was appointed to the positions of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister.[6]

On 16 September 1979, Amin removed Taraki from power and assumed the roles of Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, and General Secretary of the PDPA Central Committee.[7]

What the cited sources add

According to the same BBC blog, by April 1979 the Marxist revolution had turned into a catastrophe, prompting Amin to start a series of purges.[8] A 2021 article reports that Soviet Spetsnaz special forces were responsible for killing Amin.[9] A World analysis piece notes that Amin rose to the presidency in 1979 and that Taraki was killed.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Hafizullah Amin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Halliday, "Fred Halliday, The War and Revolution in Afghanistan, NLR I/119, January–February 1980", New Left Review, February 1980, p. 20–41 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Hafizullah Amin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arnold 1983, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=cd85ioPsz6cC&pg=PA80 80]; Jessup 1983, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hP7jJAkTd9MC&pg=PA20 20]; Encyclopedia Iranica – ḠILZĪ (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Hafizullah Amin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "BBC Blogs – Adam Curtis – Kabul: City Number One – Part 4", 28 October 2009; "What the CIA Did (And Didn't Do) in Soviet-Occupied Afghanistan", 26 April 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Hafizullah Amin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arnold 1983, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=cd85ioPsz6cC&pg=PA80 80]; Misdaq 2006, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zvm9dxavH-IC&pg=PA136 136]; Arnold 1983, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=cd85ioPsz6cC&pg=PA80 80] (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Hafizullah Amin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arnold 1983, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=cd85ioPsz6cC&pg=PA80 80] (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Hafizullah Amin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gladstone 2001, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=aH_KCWVB6W0C&pg=PA117 117]; Brecher Wilkenfeld 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=GjY7aV_6FPwC&pg=PA356 356]; Gladstone 2001, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=aH_KCWVB6W0C&pg=PA117 117]; Asthana Nirmal 2009, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=8EqWnqdsgZMC&pg=PA219 219] (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Hafizullah Amin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "BBC Blogs – Adam Curtis – Kabul: City Number One – Part 4", 28 October 2009; Amstutz, "Afghanistan: The first five years of Soviet occupation", National Defense University Press Publications, 1986; Kaufman, "Taraki's Downfall Came Immediately After a Visit to Moscow", The New York Times, 23 September 1979; "Coda. The Death of a President" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "BBC Blogs – Adam Curtis – Kabul: City Number One – Part 4", 28 October 2009. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
  9. "What the CIA Did (And Didn't Do) in Soviet-Occupied Afghanistan", 26 April 2021. facts only, no text reused. newlinesmag.com
  10. World: Analysis: Afghanistan: 20 years of bloodshed – "another leader, Hafizullah Amin, gained prominence. He became president in 1979 and Taraki was killed. [.. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hafizullah Amin (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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