Written by TOLOnews
Tuesday, 24 August 2010 10:39
Ethnicity: Pashtun, Kandahar
Former roles: governor of Kandahar 1992-1994
The former governor of Kandahar, Gul Agha Sherzai, was ousted from his post by the Taliban in 1994 before fleeing to Quetta in Pakistan.
He returned at the head of a 3,000 strong militia in 2001 to re-take Kandahar with US backing and assume the role of governor once again.
Sherzai was replaced as governor by Yousef Pashtun in 2003 after Karzai's government ruled that officials could not hold military and civil posts simultaneously.
He resumed his role temporarily after extensive lobbying.
He was made special advisor to Karzai in 2004 and was appointed governor of Nagarhar province.
He is extremely popular among communities in southern Afghanistan.