--- description: Find out why Abdul Ghani Baradar is one of the 100 most influential people of 2021. title: Abdul Ghani Baradar: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5066a9d560a94a43/698a1ca4b21a9c1d7650520e/abdul-ghani-baradar-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 15, 2021 # Abdul Ghani Baradar by Ahmed Rashid  Abdul Ghani Baradar Sefa Karacan—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Abdul Ghani Baradar Sefa Karacan—Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesSefa Karacan—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is revered among the [Taliban](https://time.com/tag/taliban/ "undefined") as a founding member of the movement in 1994, a charismatic military leader and a deeply pious figure. When the Taliban swept to victory in August in [Afghanistan](https://time.com/tag/afghanistan/ "undefined"), it was on the terms [Baradar negotiated](https://time.com/5648002/us-taliban-peace-deal/ "undefined"). He was said to be making all the major decisions, including the amnesty offered to members of the former regime, the lack of bloodshed when the Taliban entered Kabul and the regime’s contacts and visits with neighboring states, especially China and Pakistan. Now he stands as the fulcrum for the future of Afghanistan. In the interim Taliban government, he was made a Deputy Prime Minister, the top role given to another leader more acceptable to the younger, more hard-line generation of Taliban commanders. A quiet, secretive man who rarely gives public statements or interviews, Baradar nonetheless represents a more [moderate current](https://time.com/6091423/taliban-afghanistan-government/ "undefined") within the Taliban, the one that will be thrust into the limelight to win Western support and desperately needed financial aid. The question is whether the man who coaxed the Americans out of Afghanistan can sway his own movement. _Rashid is a journalist in Pakistan and author of_ Taliban Abdul Ghani Baradar Is on the 2021 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095986/abdul-ghani-baradar/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095986/abdul-ghani-baradar/"},"headline":"Abdul Ghani Baradar","datePublished":"2021-09-15T11:19:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:13.086Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095986/abdul-ghani-baradar/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","T100 2021","T100 2021 Leaders"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5066a9d560a94a43/698a1ca4b21a9c1d7650520e/abdul-ghani-baradar-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5066a9d560a94a43/698a1ca4b21a9c1d7650520e/abdul-ghani-baradar-time-100-2021.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095986/abdul-ghani-baradar/","name":"Abdul Ghani Baradar"}}]}] ```