Mohammed Daoud Khan

President of Afghanistan

18 July 1909 Kabul, Afghanistan

28 April 1978(1978-04-28) (68) Kabul, Afghanistan

17 July 1973 – 28 April 1978

President of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978, Prime Minister from 1953 to 1963 Sardar Mohammed Daoud Khan, also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and as President of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978. Born into the Musahiban royal family, Khan started as a provincial governor in the 1930s and later a commander before he was chosen as prime minister in the monarchy of his first cousin, Mohammed Zahir Shah. Ten years after his resignation as prime minister, Khan overthrew the monarchy with the backing of Afghan Army officers and declared himself as the first President of the Republic of Afghanistan in 1973, renouncing his royal title. Khan was known for his autocratic rule, educational and progressive social reforms, pro-Soviet policy and Pashtun irredentism; his social and economic reforms during his time as prime minister & president were thought to be relatively successful, but his foreign policy led to tense relations with neighbouring countries, and was ultimately his fate when he was assassinated in 1978 during the Saur Revolution led by the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). The 1978 coup and assassination plunged Afghanistan into the ongoing Afghanistan conflict (1978–present).