More technocrats, fewer warlords

While composing the transitional administration, Karzai had to balance between different powerful groups who all wanted to be represented in the government. After Karzai was chosen by the people he was able to form a more independent government. Warlords like Gul Agha Sherzai, Yunus Qanuni and Sayed Hussain Anwari didn't return to the cabinet and were replaced by technocrats with work experience relevant to their assigned portfolios.^[2] However, prominent warlord Ismail Khan, who had been represented in earlier cabinets by his son Mir Wais Saddiq was named Water and Energy Minister^[3]

Defense Minister Muhammad Fahim was replaced by his deputy Abdur Rahim Wardak, a Pashtun leader who fought the Soviet occupation during the 1980s. The key post of finance minister will also be changed hands. Current Central Bank Governor Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi will replace current Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, who refused to take a second term, finding the Karzai government corrupt.^[4] Ghani alienated many of his colleagues, but was popular by western allies of Afghanistan and became chief of Kabul University.^[5] Other ministers who were popular by western allies, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali, kept their posts in the new Cabinet.^[6] Karzai chose Massouda Jalal, his only female opponent in the 9 October presidential election and an outspoken critic of Karzai's reliance on warlords, to serve as minister of women's affairs. He also created a new Counternarcotics Ministry to confront Afghanistan's burgeoning opium industry and appointed the relatively unknown Habibullah Qadari to its helm.^[2]

The constitution of Afghanistan requires the Afghan Parliament to approve or disapprove the cabinet ministers which the Afghan President proposes. Because there was no Afghan Parliament when the administration was installed it was scheduled to be approved after the parliamentary election of 2005.^[2]

Composition

The first Karzai cabinet is, as the constitution requires, headed by a president and two vice-presidents, two less than the four vice-presidents of the Transitional Administration. Furthermore, the positions of Planning Minister, Reconstruction Minister, Civil Aviation & Tourism and Irrigation & Environment Minister were deleted. The position of minister of mines and light industries minister were merged to the post of mines and industries minister. Also three ministerial position were added, a minister for Youth, an Economic minister and a minister for counternarcotics, to fight the drug trade, making the total number of ministers from 29 to 27.

In September 2005 Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali resigned. On 28 September Karzai appointed his deputy, Ahmad Moqbel Zarar as acting minister.

Reshuffle

After the election of the Afghan Parliament in 2005 the cabinet picked by Karzai had to be approved, as is required by the Afghan Constitution. At the time the cabinet started in 2004 there was no parliament in session, so the parliamentary approval could only take place after the 2005 elections. Karzai took this opportunity to make some changes in the composition of his cabinet. Some cabinet members got another portfolio, other cabinet members were replaced by new ministers. The most notable change was the replacement of Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah by Rangeen Dadfar Spanta. Abdullah was offered several lesser posts but refused them.^[11] With the resignation of Abdullah Abdullah, the last of the powerful trio of the Shura-e Nazar faction, consisting of Abdullah Abdullah, Yunus Qanuni and Mohammad Fahim left the government, making Ismail Khan the only warlord left in the cabinet.

Apart from changes in the composition also minor changes in the portfolios of the ministers were made. Karzai created a new position of 'Senior Minister' for former vice-president Amin Arsala and merged the ministers of information and culture and Youth Affairs to a new minister of Youth and Culture. The Ministry of Disabled and Martyrs was merged with the Ministry of Social Affairs. The new Mines minister lost the portfolio of industries, instead Arsala's successor now became minister of commerce and industries.

On 22 March 2006 Karzai announced the following changes would be made in the cabinet he would send to the Wolesi Jirga for approval.

Rejection of five minister by Parliament

In order to expedite the approval of the Cabinet, the Wolesi Jirga has decided to have each Minister deliver a 20-minute speech to the entire house, then answer one question from each of the 18 committees in the Wolesi Jirga. The Wolesi Jirga will vote to confirm each Minister individually by secret ballot.^[14]

After voting on the candidates in April 2006, 20 out of the 25 ministers were approved by the Wolesi Jirga. The approvals on Thursday came after strong lobbying by members of the presidential staff and the ministers themselves and an appeal from the chairman of Parliament, Muhammad Yunus Qanooni, to place the national interest above ethnic and personal divisions.^[15]

The five rejected minister were Muhammad Amin Farhang, Sayed Makhdum Raheen, Suraya Raheem Sabarnag, Gul Hussein Ahmadi and Muhammad Haidar Reza. Especially the rejection of close Karzai ally Muhammad Amin Farhang was a blow for the president. Legislators said after the vote that his rejection was largely based on what they said was his poor performance as minister of reconstruction for three years and as minister of economy for the past year.^[15] The rejection of Raheen and Rabarnag were indications of the strong conservative Islamic element in the Parliament. According to analysts many legislators regard themselves as part of a united front to guard and interpret Afghanistan's Islamic identity.^[16] Raheen was widely criticized in his hearing for allowing films and videos that were considered offensive to strict Muslims to be broadcast on cable and national channels.^[15] Sabarnag was the only female candidate and did not find favor with conservative religious members of Parliament. Rumors circulated about her political background, and she did little campaigning or entertaining of legislators, as other ministers had done.^[15] The rejection of Ahmadi and Reza was due to poor performances in the hearings, the New York Times reported.^[15]

The approval procedure of parliament was mainly seen by analyst as a success for President Karzai, having been able to get 20 of his 25 minister approved, including the 4 key ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Interior and Finance. The 20 ministers were sworn in by Karzai on 3 May 2006.

Approval of five new ministers

In August 2006 Karzai named 5 ministers who were to replace the rejected ministers in his cabinet. All five ministers were subsequently approved by the Wolesi Jirga^[17] The five new minister were.

2008 Replacements

In March 2008, Karzai replaced the minister of counternarcotics by his deputy, General Khodaidad.^[18]

Half a year later, Karzai sacked his interior minister Zarar Ahmed Moqbel. Moqbel was widely accused of corruption and incompetence, and i.a. Britain had lobbied for his sacking.^[19] He was replaced by Education Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar.^[20] Atmar was appointed by president Karzai on 11 October 2008, and approved by Parliament on 20 October 2008. The same day the Afghan Parliament approved the appointment of Ghulam Farooq Wardak to the old portfolio of Atmar. Wardak was previously as minister of Parliamentary Affairs the liaison between the Afghan legislature and the executive. Also Muhammad Asif Rahimi was named as new minister of Agriculture.

At the same time, Karzai appointed Zarar Ahmad Muqbal as new Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, and named Assadullah Khalid as Wardak's successor as ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. However, both rejected their positions. Therefore, as few days later Karzai decided to name the incumbent minister of Border and Tribal Affairs, Abdul Karim Barahwy as minister of Refugees made Assadullah Khalid his successor.^[21]

In late 2008 Karzai replaced his Commerce minister, naming deputy Finance Minister Wahidullah Shahrani for the post. Karzai also replaced the minister of transport around this time. In a 10 November 2008 cabinet meeting, President Karzai abruptly dismissed Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Hamidullah Qaderi on the charge that Qaderi had mishandled preparations for 2008 Hajj travel. Hajj flights from Afghan cities were to begin 8 November. However, the Saudi- Malaysian joint venture NAS/Global charter airline with which Minister Qaderi contracted for flights said it could not provide planes to transport Afghan pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, perhaps because of a late Afghan contract payment. President Karzai has asked the Attorney General to investigate Qaderi for corruption and appointed his chief economic advisor Omar Zakhilwal as acting Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation and head of the Hajj committee.^[22]

After Finance Minister Anwar AlHaq Ahadi resigned his post in 2009 to make a run for the next presidential elections, Karzai named Zakhilwal as the new minister of Finance, and made Hamidullah Faruqi the new minister of Transport. Zakhilwal was named as the new finance minister on 7 February 2009 and was approved by the Parliament on 3 March 2009.