Hafizullah Amin ( born 1 August 1929 – 27 December 1979) was an Afghan
politician and statesman during the
Cold War. Amin was born in
Paghman and educated at
Kabul University, after which he started his career as a teacher. After a few years in that occupation, he went to the United States to study. He would visit the United States a second time before moving permanently to Afghanistan, and starting his career in radical politics. He ran as a candidate in the
1965 parliamentary election but failed to secure a seat. Amin was the only
Khalqist elected to parliament in the
1969 parliamentary election, thus increasing his standing within the party. He was one of the leading organisers of the
Saur Revolution which overthrew the government of
Mohammad Daoud Khan.