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Babrak Karmal

File:Babrak_Karmal_January_1980_(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Babrak Karmal

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Also known as Karmal

3rd General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (1929–1996)

AI overview

Babrak Karmal was an Afghan political leader who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation of the country in the 1980s. He is historically significant because his leadership during this period shaped Afghanistan's political direction during one of the most turbulent chapters of the nation's modern history.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Preceded by
Hafizullah Amin
Succeeded by
Mohammad Najibullah
Premier
Sultan Ali Keshtmand
Vice president
Assadullah Sarwari
Born
Sultan Husseini , ( 1929-01-06 ) 6 January 1929, Kamari, Kabul Province , Afghanistan
Died
3 December 1996 (1996-12-03) (aged 67), Moscow, Russia
Resting place
Hairatan , Afghanistan
Party
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
Alma mater
Kabul University , Nejat School
Occupation
Politician
Profession
Economist, German translator
Branch service
Royal Afghan Army
Years of service
1957–1959

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Place of birth
Kabul
Place of death
Moscow
Occupation
politician
Educated at
Kabul University
Religion
atheism
Image
Babrak Karmal January 1980 (cropped).jpg
Show 7 more facts
cause of death
liver cancer
date of birth
1929-01-06
date of death
1996-12-03
manner of death
natural causes
name in native language
ببرک کارمل
Commons category
Babrak Karmal
place of burial
Hairatan
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Babrak Karmal (born Sultan Hussein; 6 January 1929 – 1 or 3 December 1996) was an Afghan communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Afghanistan, serving in the post of general secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1986.

Kārmal attended Kabul University and developed openly leftist views there, having been introduced to Marxism by Mir Akbar Khyber during his imprisonment for activities deemed too radical by the government. He became a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and eventually became the leader of the Parcham faction when the PDPA split in 1967, with their ideological nemesis being the Khalq faction. Kārmal was elected to the Lower House after the 1965 parliamentary election, serving in parliament until losing his seat in the 1969 parliamentary election.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Babrak Karmal” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (5)