Burhanuddin Rabbani, 71, passed away on September 20, 2011. He was born in 1940 in the province of Takhar in northern Afghanistan. Rabbani was a political and religious leader in Afghanistan, who served as the country's president from 1992 to 1996. He was one of the most prominent figures during the Afghan Civil War and played an important role in the formulation of the Islamic Republic. He was also considered a spiritual leader of the mujahideen and a prominent Sufi Muslim scholar. In 2010, Rabbani chaired the Afghan Peace and Reconciliation Process, a government-sponsored commission responsible for leading reconciliation talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Rabbani's legacy as a respected religious and political leader will remain in the hearts and minds of his family, friends, and admirers.