Mohammad Hasan Akhund, acting PM:

Longtime head of Taliban’s powerful decision-making body Rehbari Shura, or leadership council. He was first the foreign minister and then deputy Prime Minister during the Taliban’s last rule from 1996-2001.

Derives much of his prestige from his proximity to the movement’s reclusive first leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. Hails from Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.

A UN sanctions report described him as a “close associate and political adviser” to Omar.

Akhund is highly respected within the movement, especially by its supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, acting deputy PM:

Once a close friend of Mullah Omar, who gave him his nom de guerre, “Baradar” or “brother”. Served as deputy defence minister earlier.

He was arrested and imprisoned in Pakistan in 2010. After his release in 2018, he headed the Taliban’s political office in Doha, becoming one of the most prominent figures in peace talks with the US.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister:

Muttaqi was later sent to Qatar and was appointed a member of the peace commission and negotiation team that held talks with the US. He projects a moderate voice.

Mullah Yaqoob, acting defence minister:

Son of the Taliban’s founder Mullah Omar, Yaqoob had originally sought to succeed his father in 2015. He stormed out of the council meeting that appointed his father’s successor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, but was eventually reconciled.

Still in his early 30s and without the long combat experience of the Taliban’s main battlefield commanders, he commands the loyalty of a section of the movement in Kandahar because of the prestige of his father’s name. He was named as overall head of the Taliban military commission last year, overseeing all military operations.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, acting interior minister:

Head of the influential Haqqani network, Sirajuddin Haqqani succeeded as its leader following the death of his father, Jalaluddin Haqqani, in 2018.

Initially backed by the US as one of the most effective anti-Soviet militia in the 1980s, the semi-autonomous group was blamed for some of the deadliest attacks on coalition forces. Haqqani is one of the FBI’s most wanted men, due to his involvement in suicide attacks and ties with al Qaida. The US state department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest.