Ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani
	Born 1940 After the ouster of President Najibullah in 1992, Rabbani was elected by a ruling committee as interim president for one year. However, he did not resign when his term expired and remained in power until 1996. Much of his presidency was consumed by fighting off other factions trying to seize control of the government. One of his fiercest rivals, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, virtually leveled the capital Kabul in fierce shelling. In September, 1996, Rabbani was overthrown by the Taliban militia and he fled the country. However, his government continues to be recognized by the United Nations.
	Mullah Mohammed Rabbani
	When the Taliban seized Kabul, a six-member ruling council of Muslim clerics was set up, with Mohammed Rabbani (no relation to Burhanuddin) appointed its leader. While Rabbani and the ruling council constitute the public face of Afghanistan, the important decisions are made by Mullah Mohammed Omar, who resides in the southern city of Kandahar.
No Photo Available	Gen. Rashid Dostum
	Dostum commands one of the most powerful armies in Afghanistan, a force that was allied with President Najibullah prior to his ouster in 1992. Dostum, sometimes in alliance with the forces of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, fought sporadically with the Rabbani government. Today Dostum's Uzbek-dominated militia, along with the remnants of the former Afghan army form the backbone of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. His forces occupy a large section of the country's north, centered on the town of Mazar-i-Sharif.
No Photo Available	Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
	Born 1940 Hekmatyar, one of the key warlords during the Soviet occupation, emerged as a formidable enemy of the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani after the fall of Najibullah in 1992. Hekmatyar declined a role in the new government and launched several unsuccessful efforts to seize power by force in Kabul. Sometimes in alliance with Gen. Rashid Dostum and others, his force pummeled the capital with rocket attacks, causing unprecedented damage to much of the city. Hekmatyar was briefly appointed prime minister as part of an alliance with the government in the closing days of the Rabbani regime.
No Photo Available	"Commander of the Faithful" Mullah Mohammad Omar
	Born 1962 Little is known about Mohammad Omar, the undisputed ruler of the Taliban. He controls Afghanistan from his hermetic base in the southern city of Kandahar. Followers of the Taliban claim that Omar, who, as a top Muslim cleric carries the title Mullah, studied in Pakistani Islamic schools before joining the jihad against the Soviets in the 1980s. On April 3rd, 1996, about 1,000 Muslim clergymen chose Mullah Omar as supreme leader of the Taliban. In accordance with the Taliban prohibition against images of the human form, few if any photographs of the leader exist.