Mohammed Rafie

Major General Mohammed Rafie (Dari/Pashto: محمد رفیع; born 1946) is an Afghan former military officer and politician who served as Afghanistan's minister of defence during the Soviet-Afghan War.^[1]

Major General Mohammed Rafie محمد رفیع HDR(A) O.R.(B)
General Dmitry Yazov (left) and Afghan Politburo member Mohammed Rafi (right) at the airport
Minister of Defence
In office 1979–1982
President	Babrak Karmal
Preceded by	Hafizullah Amin
Succeeded by	Abdul Qadir
In office 1986–1988
President	Mohammed Najibullah
Preceded by	Nazar Mohammad
Succeeded by	Shahnawaz Tanai
Vice President of Afghanistan
In office 1988–1992
President	Mohammed Najibullah
Minister of Public Works
In office 1978 – August 1978
President	Nur Muhammad Taraki
Personal details
Born	1946 (age 78–79) Paghman, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Political party	PDPA (Khalq) until 1990 Watan Party
Profession	Military officer, politician
Awards	Hero of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Order of the Red Banner Afghan KGB Medal
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Afghanistan (1967–1973) Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978) Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992)
Branch/service	Afghan Army
Years of service	1967–1992
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	1973 Afghan coup d'état 1975 Panjshir Valley uprising Saur Revolution Soviet-Afghan War Siege of Khost Afghan Civil War (1989-1992)

Rafie was born around 1946 in the Paghman area of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan.^[1] He is an ethnic Pashtun, and was an army officer in the Afghan Army's tank corps.^[1] He was appointed as the minister of public affairs following the Saur Revolution.^[1] In August 1978, he was ousted from his public offices by the Khalqi government.^[1]

Rafie was a member of the Politburo, Deputy Prime Minister, and Defense Minister. He served twice as Minister of Defense of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1984 and from 1986 to 1988.^[2]

Rafie also served as vice president under the government of Mohammed Najibullah.^[3]