Mohammad Asif Rahimi

Mohammad Asif Rahimi (born 1959) is an Afghan politician serving as ambassador to the Netherlands.^[1] He was previously the governor of Herat Province and Minister of Agriculture.^[2] An ethnic Tajik,^[3] he was raised in Kabul,^[4] and obtained a bachelor's degree from Kabul University in 1981 before completing post-graduate studies in Management of Development Programs in 1989 at Omaha University in Nebraska, United States.^[4] Rahimi moved to Canada in 2001, and returned to Afghanistan in 2005, where he joined the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, spearheading rural development and infrastructure regeneration. He was appointed to his current posting in October 2008 and was confirmed by the National Assembly of Afghanistan.^[5][6] Part of his Ministry's efforts have been focused on reducing opium production in Afghanistan, which is seen as critical to Afghanistan's development.^[7]

Mohammad Asif Rahimi
Rahimi in April 2011
Minister of Agriculture of Afghanistan
In office 11 October 2008 – 2014
President	Hamid Karzai
Preceded by	Obaidullah Rameen
Succeeded by	Asadullah Zameer
Governor of Herat
In office 27 April 2015 – 11 December 2018
Preceded by	Asiluddin Jami (acting)
Succeeded by	Abdul Quayom Rahimi
Personal details
Born	1959 Paghman District, Kabul Province, Afghanistan

Asia Times reported that on November 17, 2009, two employees of the Ministry of Agriculture had the home they shared with their extended family raided by American special forces.^[8] Asia Times reported that the surviving cousin Majibullah Qarar had reported the capture and disappearance of the other ministry employee Habib-ur-Rahman, and the shooting of two other cousins, Hamidullah and Azim. A denunciation of Habib-ur-Rahman had triggered the raid. He was a computer expert who had traveled to Kuwait to study Computer Science, and his denunciators claimed he had been influenced by al Qaeda, while there. Asia Times reported that the Minister of Agriculture had personally appealed to the Americans for the release of his employee.

References

1. Diplomat magazine (September 2, 2020)
2. "Afghanistan - Central Intelligence Agency". CIA. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
3. "Afghan Government 2009" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). September 28, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
4. "Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock". Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock of Afghanistan. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
5. "Members of President Hamid Karzai's Cabinet". Afghanistan Online. 7 March 2009. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
6. Doucet, Lyse (7 February 2008). "World effort in Afghanistan under strain". BBC. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
7. "Afghanistan's Agriculture Minister Speaks to US Agriculture Experts about Teamwork". United States Department of State. 9 December 2009. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
8. Anand Gopal (2010-01-30). "Terror comes at night in Afghanistan". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2010-01-29.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

External links

• Official Ministry Biography Page

Political offices
Preceded by Obaidullah Rameen	Minister of Agriculture of Afghanistan October 11, 2008–2014	Succeeded by Asadullah Zameer