King Zahir
alternative words: Zahir shah, Mohammad Zahir Shah, Zahir, Zaher
keywords: famous person , king , statesman
related topics: Muhammad Daoud , Kabul , Durrani dynasty
related web sites: http://www.afghan-web.com/bios/today/zahirshah.html , http://www.afghanan.net/afghanistan/sites/modern.htm
explanation: Born in 1914 as s son of Afghan king, Nadir shah and received an education at Kabul and in France. After an assassination of his father in 1933, Zahir succeeded him at the age 19. With his cousin, Muhammad Daoud as prim minister, he has modernized Afghanistan by infrastructure development and women's emancipation. He promulgated a constitution in 1964, which introduced the free election. During his trip in Europe in 1973, he was forced to abdicate by Daoud. Since then he lives in Italy.