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...

 has only been a republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

 between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs. From 1992 to 2001, during the civil war

Civil war in Afghanistan

The Afghan civil war began when the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan took power in a military coup, known as the Saur Revolution, on 27 April 1978. Most of Afghanistan subsequently experienced uprisings against the unpopular Marxist-Leninist PDPA government. The Soviet Union...

, the country was recognized as the Islamic State of Afghanistan

Islamic State of Afghanistan

The Islamic State of Afghanistan was the name of the state of Afghanistan after the collapse of the communist regime, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, in 1992. In 1996, the country was renamed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by the Taliban, after seizing control of the majority of the...

 and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was founded in 1996 when the Taliban began their rule of Afghanistan and ended with their fall from power in 2001...

.

Powers

The constitution of Afghanistan

Constitution of Afghanistan

The Constitution of Afghanistan is the supreme law of the state Afghanistan, which serves as the legal framework between the Afghan government and the Afghan citizens...

 grants the president wide powers over military and legislative affairs, with a relatively weak national parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

. These were a subject of considerable controversy when debated by the country's loya jirga

Loya jirga

A loya jirga is a type of jirga regarded as "grand assembly," a phrase in the Pashto language meaning "grand council." A loya jirga is a mass meeting usually prepared for major events such as choosing a new king, adopting a constitution, or discussing important national political or emergency...

 in December 2003. However, they were seen by the interim administration and its Western backers as being essential to securing the stability of Afghanistan.

Latest election

See also

• List of Presidents of Afghanistan
• List of monarchs of Afghanistan
• Prime Minister of Afghanistan
  Prime Minister of Afghanistan
  The Prime Minister of Afghanistan is a currently defunct post in the Afghan Government.The position was created in 1927, and was appointed by the king, mostly as an advisor, until the end of the monarchy in 1973...
  
  

External links

• Presidency of Afghanistan - The official website of the Office of the President of Afghanistan.