The following is a list of notable Afghan people, which includes all the ethnic groups of the modern state of Afghanistan. Afghanistan has gone through territorial changes. This list generally excludes Ethnic Pashtuns who originate from regions that were not controlled by Afghanistan at the time, though there are exceptions for certain figures who are prominent to Pashtuns. It also includes historical figures coming from the present day borders of Afghanistan, even if they were non-Pashtuns.
Monarchs
Humayun (reigned 26 December 1530 – 17 May 1540) Second Mughal emperor
Demetrius I of Bactria (c. 200 – c. 180 BCE) King of Bactria
Eucratides I (reigned 171–145 BC) King of the Bactrian Empire
Menander I (reigned 165/155–130 BC) Indo-Greek king
Mahmud of Ghazni (reigned 998 – 30 April 1030) Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad (reigned 1163 – 11 February 1203) Sultan of the Ghurid Empire Muhammad of Ghor (reigned 1173–1202) Sultan of the Ghurid Sultanate Muhammad Shah (reigned 27 September 1719 – 26 April 1748) 13th Mughal Emperor Abu Sa'id Mirza (reigned Samarkand: 1451–1469,Herat: 1459–1469) Ruler of the Timurd empire Alauddin Khalji (reigned 19 July 1296 – 4 January 1316) Turco-Afghan Ruler of Delhi Sultanate Ulugh Beg II (reign 1461–1502) Timiurd Ruler of Kabul and Ghazni Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza Timiurd Ruler of khorasan Sher Shah Suri (1537 – 22 May 1545) Founder of the Suri Empire in India, Sultan Husayn Bayqara (reigned 1469 – 4 May 1506) Amir of the Timurid Empire Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747–1772) was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded by some (though there is no historical record) as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan Jalal-ud-din Khalji (reigned 13 June 1290 - 19 July 1296) Founder of the Khalji dynasty, 12th Ruler of the Delhi Sultanate Kalu Khan Yousufzai - Yousufzai Afghan monarch of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. known for the Battle of Malandari Pass (1586)
Presidents
Daoud Khan
Nur Muhammad Taraki
Mohammad Najibullah
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Hamid Karzai
Ashraf Ghani-served as the fifth president of Afghanistan,and as the second and final president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Politicians and diplomats
Muhammad Yunus Nawandish, was the Mayor of Kabul from after his appointment by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in January 2010 Mohammad Siddiq Chakari Abdul Ahmad Zahedi Niqala Wahid Omar Amrullah Saleh the second Panjshir resistance Rafael Pinhasi Israeli politician Mahmud Tarzi Afghan politician and intellectual, known as founder of Afghan journalism Mohammad Ibraheem Khwakhuzhi Zalmay Khalilzad Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert Rangin Dadfar Spanta Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Ali Ahmad Khan Afghan politician and self proclaimed Emir of Afghanistan for a few weeks Ismael Balkhi Hazara political leader and reformist Abdul Rahman Pazhwak diplomat, scholar and poet Abdul Qadir (Afghan communist) Afghan politician, diplomat, and military officer Mohammed Aziz Khan Afghan prince and diplomat Abdur Rahim Khan (governor) Afghan governor of Herat Abdul Rashid Dostum Afghan warlord Juma Khan Hamdard governor of Paktia Province from 2007 to 2015 Al-Sari ibn al-Hakam(died November 820) served twice as the Abbasid Caliphate's governor of Egypt. Sayed Mohammad Ali Jawid Afghan politician Khairullah Khairkhwa current Afghan Minister of Information and Culture and a former Minister of the Interior. Kubra Noorzai Afghan politician. She was the first woman to become a government minister in the country. Nasima Razmyar Afghan-Finnish politician, elected to the Finnish Parliament in 2015 Mohammad Nabi Omari Afghan politician, governor of Khost province and held for nearly twelve years in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Abdul Ali Mazari political leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat party Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk born in Balkh, Persian vizier of the Seljuq Empire and then the Abbasid Caliphate. Shah Mahmud Khan Prime Minister of Afghanistan from May 1946 to 7 September 1953, under King Mohammed Zahir Shah's monarchy Abdul Hadi Dawi Afghan poet, diplomat and government official.