The Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA), also known as the Afghan Transitional Authority, was the temporary transitional government in Afghanistan established by the loya jirga in June 2002. The Transitional Authority succeeded the original Islamic State of Afghanistan and preceded the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Background
Following the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, a United Nations-sponsored conference of Afghan political figures in Bonn, Germany, led to the creation of the Afghan Interim Administration under the chairmanship of Hamid Karzai. However, this Interim Administration, which was not broadly representative, was scheduled to last only six months before being replaced by a Transitional Administration. The move to this second stage would require the convening of a traditional Afghan "grand assembly", called a Loya Jirga. This Emergency Loya Jirga would elect a new Head of State and appoint the Transitional Administration, which, in turn, would run the country for a maximum of two more years until a "fully representative government" could be elected through free and fair elections.
History
Electing a head of state
The most important task for the Loya Jirga was to choose a president for the Transitional Administration who would lead the country until official presidential elections could be held in 2004. Initially, two candidates who had declared to run: former president of Afghanistan and Northern Alliance leader Burhanuddin Rabbani, and the American-backed chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration Hamid Karzai. Karzai was also supported by Abdullah Abdullah and Mohammad Fahim, two important leaders of the Northern Alliance. A third possible candidate was Zahir Shah, former king of Afghanistan until 1973. He had spent years living in Rome but returned to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime. Already at the Bonn Conference, which installed the interim administration there was a group of supporters of Zahir Shah, called the Rome-group, advocated for the former king to take up the position of head of state.
Upon arrival in Kabul, more than 800 delegates signed a petition urging the nomination of Zahir Shah as Head of State, if only as a figurehead. In view of the speculation aroused by the petition, United States and United Nations representatives pressed the former king to withdraw. The start of the Loya Jirga was delayed from 10 to 11 June because of "logistical and preparatory problems." On June 10, the American representative Zalmay Khalilzad gave a press conference in which he declared that Zahir Shah was not a candidate. The same day, in a press conference, Zahir Shah confirmed this and said "I have no intention of restoring the monarchy. I am not a candidate for any position in the Loya Jirga."
The election for president of the transitional administration was held by secret ballot on June 13, 2002, with black-and-white photos of the candidates adjacent to their names. Hamid Karzai was chosen with an overwhelming majority of 83% and remained in office as President.
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left|Candidates
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%
|-
|align="left" |Hamid Karzai
|align="right" |1,295
|align="right" |83%
|-
|align="left" |Masooda Jalal
|align="right" |171
|align="right" |11%
|-
|align="left" |Mahfoz Nadai
|align="right" |89
|align="right" |6%
|-
|align="left" |Total Votes
|align="right" |1555
|align="right" |100%
|}
Appointing the government ministers
On June 18, the day Karzai was to present his cabinet to the Loya Jirga, he informed the assembly that he needed one more day to finalize his list.
On June 19, the last day of the Loya Jirga, Karzai announced the names of 14 ministers for the future Afghan transitional administration, including three Vice-Presidents. He also named a Chief Justice. "Do you accept this Cabinet?" Karzai asked the Loya Jirga. After hands went up in support, he said, "All have accepted it, and I am happy about it." This led to some controversy, as delegates stated that there had not been a proper vote and that the cabinet had not been democratically selected but was the result of political negotiations parallel to the Loya jirga.
Cabinet of warlords
The Pashtun element in the transitional administration was stronger than in the interim administration, and the Loya Jirga was meant, in part, to increase civilian influence in the government. However, in many ways, Afghanistan's military factions and warlords increased and further legitimized their power during the Loya Jirga. During and after the Loya Jirga, army and police officials threatened, imprisoned, and even killed candidates to stop them from running for the Loya Jirga or to intimidate them from acting independently. The Northern Alliance still dominated the government. The three vice-presidents Karzai announced at the Loya Jirga—Khalili, Qadir and Fahim—were all Northern Alliance commanders, although none of them had the same ethnic background. The powerful Tajik Jamiat-e Islami trio of Fahim, Qanuni, and Abdullah kept important positions in the new cabinet.
The powerful warlord Ismail Khan was not part of the administration, but he was represented by his son, Mir Wais Saddiq. However, Saddiq was assassinated in 2004 while serving as minister. Another powerful warlord, the Uzbek Abdul Rashid Dostum, was also not part of the cabinet; however, there was one more Uzbek in the transitional administration than in the interim administration.
In the years after the government was established, President Karzai made efforts to limit the worst effects of warlord dominance. For example, he replaced the relatively weak Pashtun who led the Ministry of Interior with the more reform-minded Ali Ahmad Jalali. After Karzai appointed Qanuni as special adviser on security, through which he retained unofficial control over the Afghan intelligence apparatus and became the de facto supervisor of , he decided to join the administration anyway. However, he also formed a party outside of the government and ran for president in the next elections.
Composition
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Transitional Afghan Ministers
|-
! Transitional<br />Authority<br />Position || Name || Ethnicity || Incumbent/New
|-
| President || Hamid Karzai || Pashtun || Incumbent (before chairman)
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| Vice-President and <br> Defense Minister || Mohammed Fahim || Tajik ||Incumbent
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| Vice-President || Karim Khalili || Hazara || New
|-
| Vice-President || Hedayat Amin Arsala|| Pashtun || New (was Finance Minister)
|-
| Vice-President and <br> Public Works Minister|| Abdul Qadir<br> Abdul Ali|| Pashtun<br> || New (was Urban Affairs Minister) (killed on July 6, 2002)<br> New (Ali only took over the Public Works portfolio after July 6, 2002
|-
| Vice-President and <br> head of the Afghan Constitution Commission || Nematullah Shahrani || Uzbek || New
|-
| Special Advisor on Security and <br>Education Minister || Yunus Qanooni || Tajik || Incumbent (Special Advisor on Security is new post)
|-
| Foreign Minister || Abdullah Abdullah || Tajik || Incumbent
|-
| Finance Minister || Ashraf Ghani || Pashtun || New
|-
| Interior Minister || Taj Mohammed <br> Ali Ahmad Jalali || Pashtun<br>Pashtun || New<br>New (Jalali replaced in Januari 2003)
|-
| Planning Minister || Mohammed Mohaqqeq || Hazara || Incumbent (but lost role as vice-chair)
|-
| Communications Minister || Masoom Stanakzai || Pashtun || New
|-
| Borders Minister || Arif Nurzai || Pashtun || New (was Small Industries Minister)
|-
| Refugees Minister || Intayatullah Nazeri || Tajik || Incumbent
|-
| Mines Minister || Juma Muhammad Muhammadi || Pashtun || New
|-
| Light Industries Minister || Mohammed Alim Razm || Uzbek || Incumbent
|-
| Health Minister || Sohaila Siddiqi || Pashtun || Incumbent
|-
| Commerce Minister || Sayed Mustafa Kasemi || Shiite Muslim || Incumbent
|-
| Agriculture Minister || Sayed Hussain Anwari || Hazara || Incumbent
|-
| Justice Minister || |Abdul Rahim Karimi || Uzbek || Incumbent
|-
| Information and Culture Minister || Saeed Makhdoom Rahim || Tajik || Incumbent
|-
| Reconstruction Minister || Mohammed Fahim Farhang || Pashtun || Incumbent
|-
| Haj and Mosques Minister || Mohammed Amin Naziryar || Pashtun || New
|-
| Urban Affairs Minister || Yusuf Pashtun<br>Gul Agha Sherzai || Pashtun<br>Pashtun || New<br>New (Sherzai took over on August 16, 2003)
|-
| Water and Power Minister || Ahmed Shakar Karkar || Uzbek || Incumbent (but los role as Vice-chair)
|-
| Irrigation & Environment Minister || Ahmed Yusuf Nuristani || Pashtun || New
|-
| Martyrs and Disabled Minister || Abdullah || Pashtun || Incumbent
|-
| Higher Education Minister || Sharif Faez || Tajik || Incumbent
|-
| Civil Aviation & Tourism Minister || Mir Wais Saddiq || Tajik || New (was Labor and Social Affairs Minister)
|-
| Transportation Minister || Said Mohammad Ali Jawid || Shiite Muslim || New (previously served as Minister of Planning under President Burhanuddin Rabbani)
|-
| Rural Development Minister || Hanif Asmar || Pashtun || New
|-
| Labor and Social Affairs Minister || Noor Mohammad Qarqin || Turkmen||
|-
| Woman's Affairs Minister || Habiba Sarabi || Hazara || New
|-
| Supreme Court Chief Justice || Hadi Shinwari || Pashtun ||
|-
| Security Advisor || Zalmay Rassoul || Pashtun ||
|-
| State or Advisor-Minister for Women's Affairs || Mahbooba Hoquqmal || Pashtun||
|-
| Governor of the Afghan Central Bank || Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi || Pashtun ||
|}