Abdul Ghafoor Rawan Farhadi, one of Afghanistan’s most prominent diplomats, scholars and former permanent representatives to the United Nations, has died at the age of 96 in San Francisco, California.
His son, Tariq Farhadi, confirmed to Afghanistan International on Monday that his father died of natural causes related to old age.
Farhadi devoted more than six decades to Afghanistan’s diplomatic service and played a significant role in shaping the country’s foreign policy during several pivotal periods of its modern history.
He began his career at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 1950s and, during the premiership of Mohammad Yusuf, became the ministry’s youngest Director General for Political Affairs.
He later served as Secretary of the High Council of Ministers under Prime Ministers Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal and Noor Ahmad Etemadi before being appointed Afghanistan’s ambassador to France in 1972.
Among his most notable appointments was his tenure as Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, a position he held from 1993 to 2006. During that period, he represented Afghanistan through one of the country’s most challenging political eras, engaging with the international community on issues affecting Afghanistan’s future.
Beyond diplomacy, Farhadi was widely respected as a scholar and commentator on Afghan history, politics and international affairs, earning recognition for his extensive contributions to public life and academic research.
His death marks the passing of one of Afghanistan’s longest-serving diplomats, whose career spanned decades of profound political transformation and whose work left a lasting imprint on the country’s diplomatic history.
