Abdul Hai Habibi

• Name — Abdul Hai Habibi • Native Name — عبدالحی حبیبی • Birthplace — Kandahar, Emirate of Afghanistan • Died — 9 May 1984 • Place of death — Kabul, Democratic Republic of Afghanistan • Occupation — Historian, politician, scholar, professor • Subject — History and academia • Website — http: www.alamahabibi.com

Habibi was born in 1910 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to a Hazara mother who was enslaved and a Pashtun father. He was the great grandson of Allamah Habibullah, the eminent scholar known as "Kandahari intellectual" who authored many books. Habibi's father died at an early age and he grew up studying in the mosques of Kandahar, and in 1920 he was admitted to the primary school of Shalimar. Being good at his studies, he received his diploma at the age of 15 and began working as a teacher in the primary schools of Kandahar. In 1927 he was appointed as the deputy editor of Tulo Afghan weekly newspaper in Kandahar and 3 years later became the editor of the newspaper. In 1950s, he was forced to exile by living in Peshawar, Pakistan, because of his opposition to Afghan Prime Minister Shah Mahmud Khan. While in exile, he published a journal called Azad Afghanistan (Free Afghanistan). He was permitted to return to Afghanistan in 1961 to become professor in the faculty of literature of Kabul University. In 1966, he was appointed president of Afghan Historical Society and he published a number of books on Afghan history. Senzil Nawid writes: As an academic, Habibi worked diligently throughout his life. He is the author of 115 books and over 500 papers and articles on the literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, poetics and the culture of the people of Afghanistan. Several of his books have been translated to English, Arabic, German and other foreign languages. Abdul Hai Habibi died on 9 May 1984, in Kabul, during the Soviet–Afghan War. He was 74 years old at the time of his death. He was fluent in Pashto and Dari.

• Teacher in the primary schools of Kandahar, 1925–1927. • Deputy editor of Tuloo-e Afghan newspaper, 1927–1931. • Editor of Tuloo-e Afghan, 1931–1940. • President of Pashto Academy (Pashto Tolana) in Kabul, 1940–1941 (at the same time he served as the Deputy President of the Department of Publications). • Advisor to the Education Ministry in Kabul, 1941–1944. • Chairman of the first College of Letters of Kabul University, and president of the Pashto Academy and professor of history of Pashto literature, 1944*–1946. • President of the Education Department of Kandahar, 1946–1947. • Commercial attaché in Quetta, Balochistan, 1947. • Elected representative of Kandahar province during the 7th session of the National Assembly of Afghanistan (Afghan Parliament), 1948–1951. • Received the rank of professor from Kabul University in 1965. • President of Afghan Historical Society, 1966–1971. • Advisor on cultural affairs to Prime Minister Mohammad Musa Shafiq, 1972–1973. • Professor of literature and history, Kabul University, 1970–1977. • Advisor to the Ministry of Information and culture, 1978–1982.