 sardar mohammed daoud khan or daud khan (july 18, 1909 â april 28, 1978) was prime minister of afghanistan from 1953 to 1963, and later became the first president of afghanistan. he overthrew the monarchy of his first cousin mohammed zahir shah and declared himself as the first president of afghanistan from 1973 until his assassination in 1978 as a result of the saur revolution led by the communist people's democratic party of afghanistan (pdpa). daoud khan was known for his progressive policies, especially in relation to the rights of women and for initiating two five-year modernization plans which increased the labor force by about 50 percent. == early life == prince daoud (pashto for "david") was born in kabul, the eldest son of the diplomat hrh prince mohammed aziz khan (1877â1933) (an older half-brother of king mohammed nadir shah) and his wife, khurshid begum. he lost his father to an assassination in berlin in 1933, while his father was serving as the afghan ambassador to germany. he and his brother naim khan (1911â1978) then came under the tutelage of their uncle hrh prince hashim khan (1884â1953). daoud proved to be an apt student of politics. educated in france, he served as governor of the eastern province in 1934-35 and in 1938â39, and was governor of kandahar province from 1935 to 1938. in 1939, daoud khan was promoted to lieutenant-general and commander of the important kabul army corps until 1946. from 1946 to 1948, he served as [[ministry of d
1909_births 1978_deaths Assassinated_Afghan_politicians Assassinated_heads_of_state Deaths_by_firearm_in_Afghanistan Leaders_who_took_power_by_coup Pashtun_people People_from_Kabul People_murdered_in_Afghanistan Presidents_of_Afghanistan Prime_Ministers_of_Afghanistan