Afghan Interim Administration
Provisional government of the Islamic State of Afghanistan
Date formed	22 December 2001 (2001-12-22)
Date dissolved	13 July 2002 (2002-07-13)
People and organisations
Head of state	Hamid Karzai
Head of government	Hamid Karzai
Deputy head of government	Mohammed Fahim, Sima Samar, Muhammad Mohaqiq, Mohammad Shakir Kargar and Hedayat Amin Arsala
No. of ministers	30
Total no. of members	30
History
Predecessor	Northern Alliance Cabinet of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Successor	Afghan Transitional Administration

Part of a series on the
History of Afghanistan
Timeline
Ancient Indus Valley Civilisation 2200–1800 BC Oxus civilization 2100–1800 BC Gandhara Kingdom 1500–535 BC Median Empire 728–550 BC Achaemenid Empire 550–330 BC Seleucid Empire 330–150 BC Maurya Empire 305–180 BC Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 256–125 BC Parthian Empire 247 BC–224 AD Indo-Greek Kingdom 180–130 BC Indo-Scythian Kingdom 155–80? BC Kushan Empire 135 BC – 248 AD Indo-Parthian Kingdom 20 BC – 50? AD Sasanian Empire 230–651 Kidarite Kingdom 320–465 Alchon Huns 380–560 Hephthalite Empire 410–557 Nezak Huns 484–711
Medieval Kabul Shahi 565–879 Principality of Chaghaniyan 7th–8th centuries Rashidun Caliphate 652–661 Umayyads 661–750 Zunbils 680–870 Lawik 750-977 Abbasids 750–821 Tahirids 821–873 Saffarids 863–900 Samanids 875–999 Ghaznavids 963–1187 Ghurids before 879–1215 Seljuks 1037–1194 Khwarezmids 1215–1231 Mongol Invasion 1219–1226 Chagatai Khanate 1226–1245 Qarlughids 1224–1266 Ilkhanate 1256–1335 Kartids 1245–1381 Timurids 1370–1507 Arghuns 1520–1591
Modern Mughals 1501–1738 Safavids 1510–1709 Hotak dynasty 1709–1738 Sadozai Sultanate 1716–1732 Afsharid Iran 1738–1747 Durrani Empire 1747–1823 Principality of Qandahar 1818–1855 Emirate 1823–1926 Saqqawist Emirate 1929 Kingdom 1926–1973 Daoud coup 1973 Republic 1973–1978 Saur Revolution 1978 Democratic Republic 1978–1992 Tanai coup attempt 1990 Islamic State 1992–1996 Islamic Emirate 1996–2001 US invasion 2001 Islamic State (reinstated) 2001 Interim/Transitional Administration 2001–2004 Islamic Republic (politics) 2004–2021 Islamic Emirate (reinstated) since 2021
Related historical regions Arachosia Aria Ariana Bactria Gandhara Iran Kabulistan Kafiristan Khorasan Kushanshahr Paropamisadae Sistan Zabulistan
Related topics Political history Culture Economic history Name Afghan (ethnonym) List of years List of heads of state Wars List of wars Hinduism history Hindu and Buddhist heritage Jewish history Muslim conquests
Category  Afghanistan portal
v t e

The Afghan Interim Administration (AIA), also known as the Afghan Interim Authority, was the first administration of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime and was the highest authority of the country from 22 December 2001 until 13 July 2002.

Background

After the September 11 attacks, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom as part of its "Global War on Terrorism", to remove the Taliban regime from power in Afghanistan. Just after the commencement of the invasion of Afghanistan, the United Nations sponsored an international conference in Bonn, Germany, with Afghan anti-Taliban leaders to re-create the State of Afghanistan and form an interim government.

The Bonn Agreement established an Afghan Interim Authority which would be established upon the official transfer of power on 22 December 2001. The Interim Authority would consist of Interim Administration a Supreme Court of Afghanistan and a Special Independent Commission for the Convening of an Emergency Loya Jirga (Grand Council). The Emergency Loya Jirga was to be held within 6 months after the establishing of the AIA and would put in place an Afghan Transitional Authority which would replace the Afghan Interim Authority.^[1] The Afghan Interim Administration, the most important part of the Interim Authority, would be composed of a chairman, five vice chairmen and 24 other members which each head a department of the Interim Administration. Also decided was that Hamid Karzai would be the chairman of the Interim Administration.

After the 2002 loya jirga concluded, the Interim Administration was replaced by a Transitional administration.

History

Negotiations in Bonn

Four delegations of anti-Taliban factions attended the Bonn Conference: the Northern Alliance or United Islamic Front; the "Cypress group," a group of exiles with ties to Iran; the "Rome group," loyal to former King Mohammad Zahir Shah, who lived in exile in Rome and did not attend the meeting; and the "Peshawar group," a group of mostly Afghan exiles based in Pakistan. At the time of the conference half of Afghanistan was in the hands of the Northern Alliance, including Kabul where Burhanuddin Rabbani had taken over the Presidential Palace and said that any talks on the future of Afghanistan should take place inside the country.^[2]

There was a lot of debate about who would lead the interim government. Rabbani did not want the Bonn Conference to decide on names for the interim government but after pressure from the United States and Russia the Northern Alliance delegation headed by younger leader Yunus Qanuni, decided to go on with the talks with or without the support of Rabbani.^[2]

At the beginning of the conference it seemed that King Zahir Shah had a lot of support, but the Northern Alliance opposed this. By the final days of the conference, it was down to two candidates: Hamid Karzai, whom the United States was promoting as a viable candidate and Abdul Satar Sirat, whose name was proposed by the Rome group.^[2] The Bonn conference agreed that Karzai would head the Interim Administration.

Creation of the cabinet

With Karzai chosen as "Chairman" of the Interim Administration, he created a 30-member cabinet. The Northern Alliance received about half of the posts in the interim cabinet, and members of the Rome group were named to eight positions. These included warlords with private militias. Among the most notable members of the interim administration were the trio Yunus Qanuni, Mohammad Fahim and Abdullah Abdullah, three of the most well-known leaders of the Northern Alliance. Afghanistan had been in a state of serious fragmentation and factionalism since the early 1990s; Karzai attempted to unify the country by working with and representing all four major ethnic groups in the cabinet.^[3][4] The inclusion of different warlords in the cabinet (and appointment to high provincial positions) divided opinion in Afghanistan, but many saw it as an attempt by Karzai to include everyone in a post-Taliban era of Afghanistan to prevent further conflict.^[5]

During the time in power of the administration, clashes between certain warlords did occur, notably ethnic clashes between followers of Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Muhammad Nur in northern Afghanistan^[6] (their rift would continue until c. 2003), and factional clashes between the militias of Pacha Khan Zadran and rivals including Taj Mohammad Wardak in Paktia and Khost provinces.^[7][8] Karzai's administration in Kabul did not always have power in the regions where warlords were battling.^[9]

Composition of Afghan Interim Administration