Appointer Direct popular vote | ||
 | ||
Style The Honourable (Formal)
His Excellency (Diplomatic) Residence Presidential Citadel, Kabul, Afghanistan Term length Five years, renewable once Inaugural holder Mohammed Daoud Khan (Republic)
Hamid Karzai (Islamic Republic) Formation July 17, 1973 (Republic)
December 7, 2004 (Islamic Republic) | ||
The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is the head of state of Afghanistan.
Before the office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was created in 2004, Afghanistan has been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onward. Before 1973, it was a monarchy. Between 1992 and 2001, during the civil war, the country was recognized as the Islamic State of Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Powers
The Constitution of Afghanistan grants the president wide powers over military and legislative affairs, with a relatively weak national bicameral national assembly, the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) and Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders). A president can only serve up to two five-year terms. Hamid Karzai started his first five-year term in 2004. After his second term ended in 2014, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was chosen as the next president.