Hamdullah Mohib

Early life

Mohib was born in a small village north of Jalalabad in 1983. He was the youngest of eleven children. Mohib's father worked in Kabul as a court clerk.

Mohib's family fled the Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, becoming Afghan refugees. The family returned home after the end of the Soviet invasion, but fled once more to Pakistan after a renewed civil war broke out.

Education and career

When Mohib was sixteen years old, his family sent him to London. He attended community college and then Brunel University, earning a degree in computer systems engineering. Mohib acquired British citizenship.

After seven years in the UK, Mohib returned to Afghanistan, becoming director of information technology at the American University of Afghanistan. During the 2009 Afghan presidential election, Mohib worked on the campaign of Afghan finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who came in fourth place, losing to incumbent President Hamid Karzai.

Mohib then returned to the UK to study for his Ph.D., completing it in 2014. In the same year, Mohib again became an aide to Ghani, who won the 2014 Afghan presidential election. After Ghani assumed office, Mohib became his deputy chief of staff; one year later, Mohib was appointed Afghan ambassador to the United States. Mohib was just 32 years old and had no prior diplomatic experience. Mohib formally presented his credentials to U.S. President Barack Obama in September 2015.

As ambassador, Mohib has emphasized the need to strengthen the U.S.-Afghan partnership on shared areas of interest, including economic development, anti-corruption efforts, and counterterrorism.

Personal life

Mohib married Lael Adams, an American expert on Afghanistan, in 2011.

According to TOLOnews, Mohib is fluent in English, Pashto, and Dari and proficient in Urdu.

Works by Mohib