Omar Zakhilwal
Dr. Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal (Pashto: ډاکتر عمر زاخيلوال ; born 1968) has served on a number of key government posts for the past 16 years: President’s Special Representative & Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan from Feb 2016 until Nov 2018, National Economic Advisor of Afghanistan from Oct 2014 to Feb 2016, Minister of Finance from Feb 2009 to Dec 2014, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation from Oct 2008 to Feb 2009, Chief Economic Advisor to President Hamid Karzai from Jul 2008 to Feb 2010, President of Afghanistan Investment Support Agency from Sep 2005 to Feb 2009, Founder & President of Afghanistan Cricket Board from June 2010 to Jan 2013.
Omar Zakhilwal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 3 March 2009 – 1 February 2015 | |
| President | Hamid Karzai Ashraf Ghani |
| Preceded by | Anwar ul-Haq Ahady |
| Succeeded by | Eklil Ahmad Hakimi |
| Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan | |
| Assumed office 9 February 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Janan Mosazai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1968 (age 52–53) Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan |
| Alma mater | University of Winnipeg Queen's University |
Before Dr Zakhilwal joined the Afghan government he worked for various international organizations in Kabul, including the World Bank, UN, CIDA. He also counter-parted with various international think tanks on Afghanistan related development research work. He has authored many other important scholarly works before and after.Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002, Dr Zakhilwal worked as a Senior Research Economist with the Federal Government of Canada and also taught economics at Carleton University in Ottawa.
Since 2002 Dr Zakhilwal has been part of, or on occasions central to many important events on Afghanistan. He was an active part of all the country's Loya Jirgas and was organizer/co-organizer of most major international conferences on Afghanistan. These included Afghanistan Paris Conference of 2008, London Conference of January 2010, Kabul Conference of July 2010, Bonn Conference of December 2011, Tokyo Conference of July 2012 and London Conference of December 2014. From June 2007 to December 2014, Dr Zakhilwal served as a Co-chair of the Joint Coordination & Monitoring Body (JCMB - Afghanistan's overall coordination body with donors) alongside the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General. Since the beginning of 2019 Dr Zakhilwal has been a key player in the IntraAfghan Dialogue for peace.
Early life
Dr Omar Zakhilwal was born in 1968 in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan.[1] He is believed to be an ethnic Pashtun.[2] In 1984, at the age of 17, Zakhilwal along with his family fled his country among the Afghan refugees and settled in Peshawar, Pakistan. In 1991, he along with the family immigrated to Canada.
Education and academics
Dr Omar Zakhilwal obtained his Bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada in 1994. He then moved to Kingston, Ontario, where he earned a Master's degree in economics at Queen's University in 1995. Soon after that he found a job with Statistics Canada in Ottawa, where he completed a doctorate in economics at Carleton University. He graduated in 2001.[3]
Zakhilwal published numerous articles and research papers on political, economic and social issues related to Afghanistan for newspapers, magazines and journals such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Wahdat, Forum of Federation Quarterly, Human Rights Tribune, Al-Ehram, Afghan Post, Heela, Dawat, Mujahid Wolus, Afghan Mosaic, and Afghan Mirror.[4] His work is in English, Pashto and Dari, and some of his articles are available on the internet.
Politics
Over the course of his stay in Afghanistan, Zakhilwal has been part of the 2002 and 2003 loya jirgas. He served as an author of Afghanistan's First National Human Development Report, which was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in February 2007 and won the UN special award for best analysis in June 2007.
He also worked as an Afghan counterpart to the North-South Institute-led "What Kind of Peace is Possible?" research project, examining the role of community-led development in sustainable peace-building, as well as working on a strategy for Counter-Narcotics Alternative Livelihood in Afghanistan. He has done consulting work for the World Bank, UNDP, CIDA, and other organisation.
Zakhilwal served as the President of the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), a member of the Supreme Council of Da Afghanistan Bank, Acting Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, and the Chief Advisor to the Minister of Rural Development of Afghanistan. He became the Chief Economic Advisor to President Hamid Karzai in July 2008, and in March 2009 he was chosen as the new Minister of Finance.
Dr Omar Zakhiwal honoured twice with highest government award, the Wazir Akbar Khan medal for recognition of his services from President Hamid Karzai and President Ashraf Ghani .
Work history
| Chief Economic Advisor to the President of Afghanistan | |
| Ministry of Finance | Finance Minister |
| Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) | Chairman |
| Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA) | President |
| Transport and Civil Aviation | Acting Minister |
| Da Afghanistan Bank | Member of the Supreme Council |
| Minister of Rural Development of Afghanistan | The Chief Advisor |
| Government of Canada | Senior Research Economist |
| Carleton University in Ottawa | Professor of Economics |
| Board of Directors of Partnership Afghanistan Canada | President |
| Embassy of Afghanistan in Pakistan | Ambassador |
References
- Zakhilwal, Dr. Hazrat Omar Zakhelwal
- "Afghan Government 2009" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
- "Dr. Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal Minister of Finance". Afghanistan's Ministry of Finance. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/iasmembersbio/omarbio.htm
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anwar ul-Haq Ahady |
Minister of Finance 2009–2015 |
Succeeded by Eklil Ahmad Hakimi |
