Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai
Senior Fellow, Jennings Randolph Fellowship Program
May 1, 2008 February 28, 2009
Project Focus:
Security, Reconstruction and Reconciliation in Afghanistan
Afghanistan | South Asia | Demobilization of Illegal Armed Groups Disarmament | Demobilization and Reintegration | Humanitarian and Post-Conflict Infrastructure Development and Stabilization | Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Phone: (202) 429-3874
E-mail: mstanekzai@usip.org
Languages: Dari | Pashto
An advisor to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and vice chair of the Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, a group responsible for the disbandment of illegal armed groups, Mohamed Masoom Stanekzai’s research focuses on security, reconstruction and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
From 2002 to 2004, he was minister of telecommunication/information and communications technology in the Afghan Transitional Government. During this time, he developed and implemented a major reform and restructuring program that helped the sector to flourish as one of the success stories of post-conflict reconstruction in the country. Prior to that, he was director of the Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation in Afghanistan. He has 25 years of substantive experience in design and management, including the telecom sector, humanitarian and community development, renewable energy, governance, security sector reform and other areas. He has worked with government entities, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, NGOs, the U.N., and private sectors in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Most recently, he completed a draft regulatory framework for the operation of private security companies in Afghanistan, which was adopted by the government.
Stanekzai earned a Master’s degree in philosophy of engineering for sustainable development from Cambridge University and a Master’s in business management from Preston University. He has a B.A. from the Kabul Telecom Institute and is a graduate of the Kabul Military University.
Publications