BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Mohammad Asif Rahimi was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1959. He received his bachelor's degree in 1981 and completed his post-graduate studies in Management of Development Programs from Omaha University in the USA in 1989. Mr. Rahimi has worked extensively in the areas of development and humanitarian relief, both in Afghanistan and abroad. He worked with CARE-USA as manager of CARE operations in Afghanistan for over a decade. In 2001 Mr. Rahimi joined CARE-Canada as South Asia regional manager. Returning to Afghanistan in early 2005, Mr. Rahimi joined the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) as the head of National Solidarity Program (NSP) -the flagship community development initiative of the government of Afghanistan. National Solidarity Program (NSP) is one of the most successful national priority programs implemented by the government of Afghanistan so far. Rahimi was serving as the Deputy Minister for Programs in MRRD Since April 2006, a profile in which he leaded all of the ministry's national and regional initiatives in rural development, infrastructure, and economic regeneration. Mohammad Asif Rahimi was appointed as Afghanistan’s Minister of Agriculture, Irriga-tion and Livestock in October 2008. Mr. Rahimi has contributed immensely to policy and strategy development within the government of Afghanistan, including, among others, playing a leading role in the Policy Action Group discussions, the development of the Comprehensive Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) initiative, and to the development and operationalization of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). With his extensive experience in rural development planning, mobilization of donations, international aids, public management and the design and implementation of development projects, Rahimi is providing effective leadership to the ministry’s agricultural master plan and other programs.