Zalmay Wesa (Pashto: زلمي ويسا) (1947) is an Afghan politician. Previously Governor of eastern Paktia Province, he was appointed Governor of Kandahar Province in May 2017 when the previous governor, Humayun Azizi, was injured in the January 2017 Afghanistan bombings.[1]

Zalmai Wesa
زلمي ويسا
Wesa in 2011
Governor of Kandahar Province
In office
21 May 2017 – ?
Preceded byHumayun Azizi
Succeeded byHayatullah Hayat
Governor of Paktia Province
In office
24 November 2016 – 20 May 2017
Personal details
Born1947 (age 76–77)
Arghandab, Kandahar, Afghanistan
Nationality Afghanistan
Political partyDemocratic Party
Alma materMoscow State University
ProfessionMajor General, Former governor of Paktia Province

Zalmai Wesa was born in 1947 in Arghandab, Kandahar, and is the elder brother of Toryalai Wesa, a former governor of Kandahar Province. He is a member of the Afghan communist Khalq Party and received his military education in Moscow in the late 1980s.[2] In 2013 he held the rank of Major General with the 209th Corps.[3][4][5]

Wesa was wounded in an assassination attempt by a bodyguard in October 2018,[6] and was erroneously reported dead.[7] The attack killed Abdul Raziq Achakzai, the police chief of Kandahar.[8] The Taliban later claimed responsibility.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Paktia governor shifted to Kandahar". 1TV. 2017-05-10. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Weesa, Zalmai Wesa Maj Gen". Who is who in Afghanistan. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  3. ^ Martino, John, ed. (2013). Worldwide government directory, with inter-governmental organizations : nations, intergovernmental organizations (2013 ed.). CQ Press. ISBN 9781452299372. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  4. ^ Shah, Taimoor; Mashal, Mujib (18 October 2018). "Top Afghan Leaders Killed in Attack That Misses U.S. Commander". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  5. ^ Salahuddin, Sayed; Constable, Pamela (October 18, 2018). "U.S. commander in Afghanistan survives deadly attack at governor's compound that kills top Afghan police general". The Washington Post. The Afghan Interior Ministry said the provincial governor, Zalmai Wessa, was wounded in the shooting and was rushed to a local hospital, where he was later reported to have died of his wounds.
  6. ^ "He spent years at war in Afghanistan; now he commands the US withdrawal". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  7. ^ Kakar, Javed Hamim (2018-10-20). "Kandahar governor in stable condition after a video message". Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  8. ^ "Afghans vote in south Kandahar's delayed elections". CNBC. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  9. ^ "Senior police chief killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
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Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Kandahar
21 May 2017–present
Incumbent

Zalmai Wesa on Facebook