Afghan Biographies

Omar, Wahid Waheed


Name Omar, Wahid Waheed
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1978
Function/Grade Senior presidential advisor in public and strategic relation
History and Biodata

2. Previous Functions of Wahid Omar:
founding Director of Government Media Center (2008),
Spokesman campaign manager Karzai Elections (2009),
President Spokesman Spokesperson Speaker (...he resigned 20110103, resigned again 20110731)
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah's representative Wahid Omar (20140922)
Ambassador to Italy (2016-20190219 resigned)
Senior presidential advisor in public and strategic relations (20190219, 20200814)

3. Biodata:
Waheed_OmarWahid Omar Waheed Omer was born 1978 and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. His early schooling took place in Kabul and Peshawar, Pakistan. Omer later attended the University of York in the United Kingdom where he received a Master of Arts degree in Political Science. At York, Omer focused on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development. His M.A. thesis was on South Africa’s post-apartheid transitional justice mechanisms and how some of those lessons could be applied to post-war Afghanistan He left Afghanistan in the late 1970’s. Over the next several years, he spent time teaching in Pakistan, Great Britain, France and the United States. In 2003, he returned to his homeland, as a UN Volunteer under the auspices of the Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) programme. Wahid, who speaks English, French, Dari, Pushtu and some Arabic and German, worked at the University of Kabul’s French department. He has written numerous manuals to enhance learning and teaching techniques and has created curricula for various departments. Within the framework of the UNV TOKTEN initiative, qualified expatriate professionals from developing countries return to their countries of origin to share their knowledge and skills gained during their residence in elsewhere. Omar has his own volunteer organization called Afghans4Tomorrow (2006), and as a director of education he was in charge of many projects. He is building a school in Wardak where girls will have an opportunity to study for the first time. 2004 he opened a training and vocational center in Kabul for girls and handicap children, finished building a mosque in Quarabagh thanks to Global Exchange, and he has given thousands of school supplies, teacher kits, and clothing items to many different schools. He worked with Engineers Without Borders to provide safe water for the district of Farza, an area in the northern plains where drought has severely damage the economy of many villages.

Both President Karzai's supporters as well as his opponents recognized Waheed Omer's eloquence, civil debate skills, his equal fluency in Pashto and Persian, and his media-management skills as one of President Karzai's strongest weapons. Presidential spokesman, Waheed Omar, on Monday (20110103) said that he had resigned his post but the president was yet to approve it, which he had not (20110221) done. President Karzai didn't accept the resignation and asked Omar to keep the job another half year. It is said that Pakistan and HIG influenced staff in Karzai's office pressed Omar to resign.
 

On 20110731 Omar resigned from his post again, saying he would cooperate with the government through other positions. Officials in President's Office have yet to comment about his replacement. President Karzai accepted Omar's resignation. (20110802)

Presidential Media office performs under the direction of the presidential office under the Head of Karim Khuram, former Afghan Information and culture minister. A number of significant changes have been noted in Afghan Presidential office after Karim Khuram, former Afghan Information and Culture minister left the Information and culture Ministry and joined Afghan presidential office.
 

According to reports (20111013), alterations in Afghan presidential office due to the methods of compliance being implemented by Karim Khuram is one of the reasons which led to resignation of Wahid Omer, former spokesman for president Hamid Karzai.
Wahid Omar is Dr. Abdullah Abdullah's representative.(20140922)

Waheed Omar has resigned from his position as an Ambassador and has announced that he will soon assume new responsibilities upon his arrival to Kabul.
In a statement posted online,  he has said that he has also stepped down as Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative to UN offices in Rome. Omar has not disclosed further information in this regard but earlier rumors indicated that he might  join the electoral ticket of Mohammad Haneef Atmar for the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for 20th of July.(20190219)

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has issued a decree confirming the appointment of Waheed Omar as senior presidential advisor in public and strategic relations.(20190219)

Wahid  speaks English, French, Dari, Pushtu and some Arabic and German.

Last Modified 2020-08-14
Established 2009-10-20