Hamid Karzai - Personal and Tribal Lineage

Personal and Tribal Lineage

In 1999, Hamid Karzai married, an obstetrician by profession who was working as a doctor with Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. They have a son, Mirwais, who was born on 25 January 2007. According to a declaration of his assets by an anti-graft body, Karzai earns $525 monthly and has less than $20,000 in bank accounts. Karzai does not own any land or property.

Karzai has six brothers, including Mahmood Karzai and Quayum Karzai, who are both Afghan American restaurant owners in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area of the United States, as well as Ahmed Wali Karzai, deceased, who was the representative for the southern Afghanistan region. Quayum is also the founder of the Afghans for a Civil Society in Maryland. Karzai has one sister, Fauzia Karzai, who is the manager of Helmand restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The family owns and operates several successful Afghan restaurants in the East Coast of the United States as well as in Chicago.

In initial biographical news reporting, there was confusion regarding his clan lineage; it was written that his paternal lineage derived from the Sadozai clan. This confusion might have arisen from sources stating he was chosen as the head, or Khan of the Popalzai. Traditionally, the Popalzai tribe has been led by members of the Sadozais. The first King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani, was the leader of the Sadozais, and the Sadozai lineage continued to rule Afghanistan until 1826 when the Barakzais ascended to the throne.

Karzai is believed to be from the Shamizai subtribe of the Popalzais. His grandfather, Khair Muhammad Karzai, was head of the Popalzai tribe from Kandahar who relocated to Kabul and ran the business of a guest house. This allowed Karzai's father Abdul Ahad, to gain a foothold in the royal family, and subsequently, the parliament. These actions and upwards movement within the Popalzai tribal system, led to the Karzai family furnishing a viable Shamizai clan alternative to Sadozai leadership in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion when the Sadozai clan failed to provide a tribal leader. He is often seen wearing a Karakul hat, something that has been worn by many Afghan kings in the past.