by Abdullah Qazi / February 4, 2009
Mir Mohammad Amin Farhang was the former Minister of Commerce under President Hamid Karzai, before that Farhang served as Minister of Economy. On December 18, 2008, the Wolesi Jirga voted to impeach Farhang; two days later, President Hamid Karzai accepted the impeachment. He was replaced with Wahidullah Shahrani.
Below is an official biography provided by the Afghan government while Farhang was the Minister of Commerce.
Mir Mohammad Amin Farhang, son of Mir Mohammad Sediq Farhang, was born into an educated family in Kabul in the year 1940. He graduated from Esteqlal High School in 1959 and earned a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Kabul University. He earned a Masters Degree and a Doctorate Degree in Economic Development from Köln University in Germany. From 1974 to 1978, he was a professor in the Economics Faculty of Kabul University and the Director of the National Economy Institute. In 1978, he was imprisoned in Pul-e-Charkhi Jail and in 1982 after his release he went to Germany. In Germany, he served as a professor in Ruhr University and the coordinator of Afghanistan’s Archive. After the fall of Taliban regime he was appointed as the Minister of Reconstruction. He has published many articles in the field of economics and politics in the Afghan and international publications. He has fluency in Dari, Pashto, French, German, and English.