Hamid Karzai (b.1957) is an Afghan political figure who served as President of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. Karzai had been an active opponent to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s but was sidelined in politics during the subsequent Taliban regime. Following the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Karzai served two years as Interim President (2002-04) before being elected President in 2004.