Hafizullah Amin was an Afghan communist politician during the Cold War. Amin was born in Paghman and educated at Kabul University, after which he started his career as a teacher. After a few years in that occupation, he went to the United States to study. He would visit the United States a second time before moving permanently to Afghanistan, and starting his career in radical politics. He ran as a candidate in the 1965 parliamentary election but failed to secure a seat. Amin was the only Khalqist elected to parliament in the 1969 parliamentary election, thus increasing his standing within the party. He was one of the leading organizers of the Saur Revolution which overthrew the government of Mohammad Daoud Khan. In 1979 he named himself president, prime minister, and chairman of the Khalq wing. He has been described as "ruthless" and a "radical Marxist".Amin's short-lived presidency was marked by controversies from beginning to end. He came to power by disposing of his predecessor Nur Muhammad Taraki and later ordering his death. Amin made attempts to win support from those who revolted against the communist regime which had begun under Taraki, but his government was unable to solve this problem. Many Afghans held Amin responsible for the regime's harshest measures, such as ordering thousands of executions. Thousands of people disappeared without trace during his time in office. The Soviet Union, which was dissatisfied with Amin, intervened in Afghanistan while invoking the Twenty-Year Treaty of Friendship between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Amin was assassinated by the Soviets on 27 December 1979 as part of Operation Storm-333, having ruled for slightly longer than three months.
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1. August 1929 – 27. December 1979
