Hibatullah Akhundzada (هبت الله اخندزاده)has been the supreme leader of the Taliban since 2016 and Afghanistan’s head of state since August of 2021, when the radical Islamic movement seized Kabul after a 20-year insurgency and the withdrawal of U.S.-led international forces. Akhundzada was elected as the Taliban’s third leader after his predecessor, Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike in May of 2016.