Abdul Hafiz Mansoor was born in 1963 in the Panjsher Valley of Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. He is a member of the Jamiat-e Islami

Jamiat-e Islami

Jamiat-e Islami , is an Islamic political party in Afghanistan along the line of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. Jamiat-e Islami means "Islamic society" in the Persian language and is also known as just Jamiat for short. Jamiat is the oldest Islamic political party in Afghanistan...

. After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Mansoor served as the first director of state radio and television in Afghanistan. As director, he was criticized for some of his conservative decisions, which included a ban on showing female singers on TV.

Mansoor was a candidate to chair the 2003 loya jirga

2003 Loya jirga

A 502-delegate loya jirga convened in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 14, 2003, to consider the proposed Afghan Constitution. Originally planned to last ten days, the assembly did not endorse the charter until January 4, 2004. As has been generally the case with these assemblies, the endorsement...

, but got fewer votes then Sibghatullah Mojaddedi

Sibghatullah Mojaddedi

Sibghatullah Mojaddedi , served as the first President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan after the fall of the communist regime in 1992. He is also the leader of the Afghan National Liberation Front...

. He also ran for president in the election of October 2004, but only received 0.2% of the vote. Mansoor has been highly critical of President Karzai, and has accused him of trying to form a dictatorship.