Babrak Karmal (, born Sultan Hussein ; 6 January 1929 – 1 or 3 December 1996 ) was an Afghan politician and statesman during the Cold War.

* 1929 – Babrak Karmal, Afghan politician ( d. 1996 )

* December 3 – Babrak Karmal, President of Afghanistan ( b. 1929 )

The Statistical Yearbook published in 1983 by the Babrak Karmal government claimed a total population of 15. 96 million for 1981 – 82.

On 27 December Radio Kabul broadcast Karmal's pre-recorded speech, which stated " Today the torture machine of Amin has been smashed, his accomplices – the primitive executioners, usurpers and murderers of tens of thousand of our fellow countrymen – fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters, children and old people ..." On 1 January Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and Alexei Kosygin, the Soviet Chairman of the Council of Ministers, congratulated Karmal on his " election " as leader, before any Afghan state or party organ had elected him to anything.

In 1967, the PDPA split into two major rival factions: the Khalq ( Masses ) was headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin who were supported by elements within the military, and the Parcham ( Banner ) led by Babrak Karmal.

On 27 April 1978, the PDPA, led by Nur Mohammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal and Amin Taha overthrew the government of Mohammad Daoud, who was assassinated along with all his family members in a bloody military coup.

In the meantime, Hafizullah Amin was killed and replaced by Babrak Karmal.

He was a member of the Parcham faction led by Babrak Karmal.

During his ascension to power, several Afghan politician did not want Najibullah to succeed Babrak Karmal because of the fact that Najibullah was known for exploiting his powers for his own benefit.

Babrak Karmal

** The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, and Babrak Karmal replaces overthrown and executed President Hafizullah Amin which begins the war.

Soon after taking power a power struggle began between the Khalqists led by Taraki and Amin and the Parchamites led by Babrak Karmal.

Under him was Babrak Karmal, the leader of the Parcham faction, as Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Amin as Council of Ministers deputy chairman and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mohammad Aslam Watanjar as Council of Ministers deputy chairman.

Babrak Karmal, the Parchamite leader, met several leading Eastern Bloc figures during this period, and Mohammad Aslam Watanjar, Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy and Assadullah Sarwari wanted to exact revenge on Amin.

In April 1980, under Babrak Karmal, the Fundamental Principles of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan were made law.

Babrak Karmal is installed as president.

* 1987-Mohammad Najibullah replaces Babrak Karmal as president.

In 1967, the PDPA split into two rival factions, the Khalq ( Masses ) faction headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin and the Parcham ( Flag ) faction led by Babrak Karmal.

The government was divided along factional lines, with President Taraki and Deputy Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin of the Khalq faction against Parcham leaders such as Babrak Karmal and Mohammad Najibullah.

That committee then elected as head of government former Deputy Prime Minister Babrak Karmal, who had been demoted to the relatively insignificant post of ambassador to Czechoslovakia following the Khalq takeover, and that it had requested Soviet military assistance.

Babrak Karmal, Afghanistan's new president, charged the Soviets with causing an increase in the unrest, and demanded that the 40th Army step in and quell the rebellion, as his own army had proved untrustworthy.

The following day, prime minister Babrak Karmal, took Amin's seat as president.

On the 1 January 1965 Taraki with Babrak Karmal established the Democratic People's Party of Afghanistan, while at the beginning the party was running under the name People's Democratic Tendency, since there were no officially political party law in Afghanistan at that time.

Nur Mohammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal, and Hafizullah Amin overthrew the regime of Daoud, and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan ( DRA ).

Taraki was Prime Minister, Babrak Karmal was senior Deputy Prime Minister, and Hafizullah Amin was foreign minister.