The Afghan Ministry of Defense is an organ of the Central Government of Afghanistan

Politics of Afghanistan

The politics of Afghanistan consists of the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly, with a president serving as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the military. The nation is currently led by the Karzai administration under President Hamid Karzai who is backed by two vice...

, overseeing the entire military of Afghanistan

Military of Afghanistan

The military of Afghanistan is composed of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Army Air Force . Being a landlocked country, Afghanistan has no navy, and the private security forces who are sometimes seen wearing military uniforms are not part of Afghanistan's military...

. , it is headed by Abdul Rahim Wardak, a former mujahid who also received some military training in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Zahir Azimi

Mohammad Zahir Azimi

Mohammad Zahir Azimi is the official spokesman for the Afghan National Army. He was promoted to the position by Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Army, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi following the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2002....

 is currenctly the Major General and spokesman of the Ministry of Defense.

From late 2001 to 2004, Mohammed Fahim

Mohammed Fahim

Mohammad Qasim Fahim is an Afghan military commander, politician and the First Vice President since November 2009. He was the Defense Minister of the Afghan Transitional Administration, beginning in 2002 and also served as Vice President from June 2002 to December 2004...

 served as the Defense Minister but was sacked after being accused of illegally occupying land in Kabul. During the same period, Abdul Rahim Wardak was the Deputy Minister. On December 23, 2004, President

President of Afghanistan

Afghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...

 Hamid Karzai

Hamid Karzai

Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

 appointed Wardak as the new Defense Minister.

One of the primary functions of the Defense Ministry today is disarming the militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

s and warlord

Warlord

A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...

s not answering to the authority of the central government through programmes such as the Afghan New Beginnings Programme

Afghan New Beginnings Programme

The Afghan New Beginnings Programme aims to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate thousands of combatants from the Afghan Militia Forces and provide them opportunities to join the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police or an alternative line of work....

. These militias coalesced from warlords and former army personnel after the collapse of the Najibullah government in 1992. Taliban insurgents have repeatedly attacked ministry officials.

On June 9, 2003, the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 urged the Afghan government to take drastic steps to make both the Afghan National Army

Afghan National Army

The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...

 and Defense Ministry better reflect the nation's ethnic make-up. This came after an earlier announcement on February 20, 2003 by former Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim that steps were being taken to this effect.

List of Defense Ministers

No.	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Political Party
*	Ghulam Haidar Rasuli Ghulam Haidar Rasuli Major General Ghulam Haidar Rasuli born in rustaq was a supporter of Mohammed Daoud Khan, who came out of retirement after the 1973 coup which removed King Zahir Shah and put Daoud in power. Rasuli was appointed Minister of Defense of Afghanistan in 1977, but was killed in the 1978 Saur...	1977	April 1978	Republican
*	Abdul Qadir Dagarwal Abdul Qadir Dagarwal Abdul Qadir Dagarwal , a colonel, was the leader of the Afghan Air Force squadrons that attacked the Radio-TV Station during the 1978 Coup that started the Saur Revolution....	May 1978	August 1978	PDPA People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan... -Parcham Parcham Parcham was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The Parcham faction seized power in the country after toppling Hafizullah Amin....
*	Mohammad Aslam Watanjar Mohammad Aslam Watanjar Mohammad Aslam Watanjar was an Afghan General and Politician. ] He started the "Saur Revolution".Watanjar later became a member of the politburo in the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, playing prominent roles in the communist coup as well as the coup that overthrew the...	March 1979	July 1979	PDPA People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan... -Khalq Khalq Khalq was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Its historical leaders were Presidents Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin. It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by the same movement. It was supported by the USSR and was formed in 1965 when the PDPA was born...
*	Hafizullah Amin Hafizullah Amin Hafizullah Amin was the second President of Afghanistan during the period of the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan....	July 1979	December 1979	PDPA People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan... -Khalq Khalq Khalq was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Its historical leaders were Presidents Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin. It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by the same movement. It was supported by the USSR and was formed in 1965 when the PDPA was born...
*	Mohammed Rafie Mohammed Rafie General Mohammed Rafie, was a member of the Politburo and Deputy Prime Minister . He served as Minister of Defense during the Russian occupied Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.-References:...	January 1980	1982	PDPA People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan... -Parcham Parcham Parcham was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The Parcham faction seized power in the country after toppling Hafizullah Amin....
*	Abdul Qadir Dagarwal Abdul Qadir Dagarwal Abdul Qadir Dagarwal , a colonel, was the leader of the Afghan Air Force squadrons that attacked the Radio-TV Station during the 1978 Coup that started the Saur Revolution....	1982	December 1986	PDPA People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan... -Parcham Parcham Parcham was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The Parcham faction seized power in the country after toppling Hafizullah Amin....
*	Mohammed Rafie Mohammed Rafie General Mohammed Rafie, was a member of the Politburo and Deputy Prime Minister . He served as Minister of Defense during the Russian occupied Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.-References:...	December 1986	May 1988	PDPA People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan... -Parcham Parcham Parcham was the name of one of the factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The Parcham faction seized power in the country after toppling Hafizullah Amin....
*	Shahnawaz Tanai Shahnawaz Tanai Lieutenant General Shahnawaz Tanai is a former communist general. He was chief of Afghanistan's army under the russians-backed Republic of Afghanistan...	May 1988	March 1990	PDPA People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan... -Khalq Khalq Khalq was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Its historical leaders were Presidents Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin. It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by the same movement. It was supported by the USSR and was formed in 1965 when the PDPA was born...
*	Mohammad Aslam Watanjar Mohammad Aslam Watanjar Mohammad Aslam Watanjar was an Afghan General and Politician. ] He started the "Saur Revolution".Watanjar later became a member of the politburo in the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, playing prominent roles in the communist coup as well as the coup that overthrew the...	March 1990	April 1992	PDPA People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was a communist party established on the 1 January 1965. While a minority, the party helped former president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, to overthrow his cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and established Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan... -Khalq Khalq Khalq was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Its historical leaders were Presidents Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin. It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by the same movement. It was supported by the USSR and was formed in 1965 when the PDPA was born...
*	Ahmad Shah Massoud (for internationally recognized Islamic State of Afghanistan)	April 1992	September 2001	Jamiat-i Islami
*	Obaidullah Akhund Obaidullah Akhund Mullah Obaidullah, the Akhund was the defence minister under the Taliban government in Afghanistan and later became an insurgent commander during the war with the United States and its allies. He was reported captured by Pakistani security forces on March 2, 2007...  (for not internationally recognized Emirate of Afghanistan)	September 1996	December 2001	Taliban
*	Mohammed Fahim Mohammed Fahim Mohammad Qasim Fahim is an Afghan military commander, politician and the First Vice President since November 2009. He was the Defense Minister of the Afghan Transitional Administration, beginning in 2002 and also served as Vice President from June 2002 to December 2004...	September 2001	December 23, 2004	Jamiat-i Islami
*	Abdul Rahim Wardak	December 23, 2004	Incumbent	None