Rabbani, Burhanuddin (1940- )

Afghan academic and politician, president 1992-96. In 1991, Rabbani co-founded the National Liberation Front (NLF), which achieved victory over the Najibullah government in 1992. After the victory, Rabbani was appointed president of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. The NLF movement, however, quickly split, and civil war among Mujahedin rebels created an opening for the Taliban to impose their strict Islamic regime. Rabbani and his government were forced to flee to Kabul in September 1996, making Mazār-e Sharīf, situated in the far north, the only major city outside Taliban control. Pro-Rabbani forces controlled only about 15 percent of the country in mid-2000.

When named president in 1992, Rabbani, a guerrilla leader and a member of Afghanistan's Tajik minority, had pledged to seek unity between the country's warring guerrillas and to abolish all laws contrary to sharia (Islamic law). But opposition from Hezb-I-Islami fundamentalists, and later, Taliban attacks, were more than his government could withstand by mid-1996. After his government were toppled by the Taliban in 1996, Rabbani continued to work towards bringing an end to the war and bloodshed in Afghanistan, urging the leaders of neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan and Iran, to convince the Taliban to start peace talks.

Rabbani studied Islamic Law at Kabul University and at the University of Al-Azhar, Egypt. In 1972 he was selected to head the Jamiat-I-Islami of Afghanistan (Islamic Union of Afghan Mujahedin, IUAM), a pro-Islamic political party. He evaded arrest in 1974 by the Daud government and fled to Pakistan. The IUAM then joined the other Mujahedin rebels in their fight against the Najibullah government and the Soviets.