Afghan Biographies

Mangal, Dr. Habib


Name Mangal, Dr. Habib
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1946
Function/Grade Ex-Ambassador
History and Biodata

3. Biodata:
Dr. Habib Gul Mangal is the son of the late Babrak Khan Mangal. He was born in 1946 in Star Kot area of Kalandar district of the southeastern Khost province. Mangal acquired his early and secondary education at Rahman Baba Higher Secondary School and completed his higher education in Kabul Medical University. He has a doctorate in Social Sciences. He served as a doctor at Khost Hospital from 1977 to 1978. Later in 1978 he served as Public Health Director in the Samangan province. He served as Afghanistan's ambassador at large and special envoy in Moscow from 1980 to 1986. During the same period, he was a non-resident ambassador to Finland, Romania and Cyprus. Habib Mangal has worked as president of Peace, Unity and Friendship Organisation of the Republic of Afghanistan in 1986 and participated in the Constitutional Loya Jirga as a representative of Paktia residents. He has been the first deputy of the National Front in 1987, representative of the people of Gardez, capital of Paktia, in Wolesi Jirga from 1987 to 1991 and president of the International Relations Commission of the Wolesi Jirga for one year. He became a member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) at the age of 18 and member of the central committee of the same party in 1979.

He was one of the founders of the Students' Movement in the Kabul University from 1972 to 1973. From 1964 to 1981, he served as an activist of PDPA. . He was twice jailed for political reasons, once as a student unionist and then because of intra-party differences in 1977-78. He says he was imprisoned because of his opposition to the monopoly of some people on the PDPA. After the fall of the Dr. Najibullah government in 1992, Mangal went to Holland, where he took part in forming organisations of Afghan refugees and other enlightened people. In early 2009, he returned to Afghanistan.

Last Modified 2011-04-23
Established 2009-10-27