Dr. Abdullah Abdullah is the son of Ghulam Mohayuddin Khan -- a senator during the last years of Afghanistan’s monarchy from Kandahar province. Born in 1960 in Kabul, he completed his elementary education at the Ghazi Mohammad Ayub Khan School and went on to graduate from Naderia High School in 1976. In 1977 Dr. Abdullah entered Kabul University’s School of Medicine, where he completed his training in ophthalmology in 1983. He subsequently served as a specialist at the Noor Eye Hospital in Kabul. In 1984, he went to Pakistan to care for Afghan refugee families at the Sayed Jamal-ud-Din Hospital. The following year, he joined the Afghan Freedom Fighters and served as caretaker in charge of health affairs for the Panjsher Valley resistance front. It was there that Dr. Abdullah became an advisor and close companion to Ahmad Shah Massoud. From 1992 to 1996, he served as a spokesperson for Afghanistan's Defence Ministry and subsequently served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Abdullah served as caretaker of the Foreign Ministry for the government-in-exile of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 1999 until the collapse of the Taliban. After Taliban’s ouster from power, Dr. Abdullah continued as Foreign Minister of the Transitional government. Approved by the Grand Assembly (Loya Jirga), and within the first elected government, he continued as Foreign Minister until 2006. Dr. Abdullah is married and has three daughters and one son. He is fluent in Dari, Pashto and English, and is proficient in Arabic and French.