Hamid Karzai has been the leader of Afghanistan for almost 13 years, since shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of the country in late 2001. He was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term in office and so did not run in the May 2014 election. His successor had been due to be sworn in by September 2, but an ongoing fraud dispute between the two candidates -- Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani -- has meant Karzai has remained in office until the dispute is resolved. Karzai says he will retire, not to a mansion built on the grounds of the presidential palace but to a more modest home in Kabul, a move made, it is thought, to address fears he would continue to wield influence over Afghan politics even after he left office.
Hamid Karzai: A Presidency In Pictures

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British Major General John McColl (right), UN special representative Lakhdar Brahimi (center), and Karzai during the January 4, 2002, signing of an agreement on the deployment of foreign troops on Afghan soil.

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Karzai speaks during an emergency Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, in Kabul on June 19, 2002, during which he was chosen for a two-year term as interim president of the Afghan transitional government.

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An Afghan election worker counts a vote for Karzai during the country's first post-Taliban presidential election, held on October 9, 2004. Karzai took the oath of office on December 7, 2004, for a five-year term as president.

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U.S. President George W. Bush holds a joint news conference with Karzai in the East Room of the White House on September 26, 2006.