Hamid Karzai - Afghanistan - Hamid Karzai, who headed the provisional administration set up when the Taleban were driven from power, won a five-year term in Afghanistan's first direct presidential elections in October 2004. He gained 55.4% of the vote. Officials said voting irregularities were not enough to affect the outcome of the poll. The president will implement Afghanistan's new constitution, which was adopted in 2004 by the Loya Jirga - a grand assembly of tribal representatives. The document envisaged a powerful presidency and defined Afghanistan as an Islamic republic, where men and women enjoy equal status before the law. Parliamentary and provincial elections were held in September 2005 and a new Afghan parliament held its inaugural session in December. But the president also faces the challenges of forging national unity, disarming regional militias and tackling drug production. Mr Karzai, a Pashtun leader, is an effective player on the world stage and enjoys strong backing from the US. In 2002 he persuaded international donors to pledge $4bn to help rebuild his country. Born in the southern Afghan town of Kandahar in 1957, Hamid Karzai studied in India and France. Exiled in Pakistan for much of the Soviet occupation and during Taleban rule, he was chosen as post-Taleban Afghanistan's interim leader in late 2001