Who is Sayed Sadaat - Biography of Afghan Minister To ‘Rider’ in German
Who is Sayed Sadaat - Biography and Personal Life of Afghan Minister To ‘Rider’ in German

Who is Sayed Sadaat

Sayed Sadaat is a former Afghan politician. He was a communications minister in the Afghan government. After serving the government for 2 years, Sadaat left office in 2018 and moved to Germany in September.

Sayed Sadaat used to be communications minister in the Afghan government before moving to Germany last December in the hope of a better future.

He was minister of communications in Afghanistan from 2016 to 2018.

Two years after leaving his post as minister, Sadaat works as a ‘rider’ in the German city of Leipzig , delivering food at home on a bicycle.

For six hours on weekdays and from noon to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays, Sadaat dons his distinctive orange coat and big square backpack, shuttling pizzas or other orders to customers.

Sayed Sadaat: Education, Political Career in Afganistan

Sadat holds two master's degrees in communications and electronic engineering from Oxford University.

This engineer with degrees in telecommunications and electronic engineering from the University of Oxford came to occupy one of the most important positions in Afghanistan.

Sadat holds two master's degrees in communications and electronic engineering from Oxford University. He worked for 23 years in the field of communications with more than 20 companies, in 13 countries, including Saudi Arabia, for Aramco and the Saudi Telecom Company.

In his over two decade experience, Sadat worked as technical advisor to Afghanistan's communication and information technology ministry from 2005 to 2013. He also served as CEO of Ariana Telecom in London from 2016 until 2017.

Sadat joined Ashraf Ghani's cabinet in 2018, but resigned from his post in 2020 due to differences with him.

As Minister of Communications in the Ashraf Ghani government, Sadaat negotiated with China or India the launch of satellites, as well as the improvement of mobile networks in Afghanistan.

Sayed Sadaat: Career in German

The 49-year-old British-Afghan dual citizen said some at home criticised him for taking such a job after having served in the government for two years, leaving office in 2018. But for him now, a job is a job.

He had quit the Afghan government because of disagreements with members of the president’s circle, he said.

His family and friends also want to leave – hoping to join the thousands of others on evacuation flights or trying to find other routes out.

Since 2015, when Europe saw a huge influx of people fleeing wars mostly from Syria and Iraq, around 210,000 Afghans have sought asylum in Germany.

With the withdrawal of US troops on the horizon, the number of Afghan asylum seekers in Germany has risen since the beginning of the year, jumping by more than 130 percent.

Even though his dual citizenship meant he could have chosen to move to the United Kingdom, where he had spent much of his life, he relocated to Germany at the end of 2020, seizing his last opportunity to do so before that path was closed by Britain’s exit from the European Union.

He chose Germany because he expected it to have a better economic future and a leading role in the telecom and IT sectors in the long term.

But even with his background, Sadaat has struggled to find a job in Germany that matched his experience.

With degrees in IT and telecommunications, Sadaat had hoped to find work in a related field. But with no German, his chances were slim.

“The language is the most important part,” said Sadaat.

Every day he does four hours of German at a language school before starting a six-hour evening shift delivering meals for Lieferando, where he started this summer.

The job pays up to 15 euros ($18) an hour, enough for his living expenses, including rent of 420 euros a month.

He admits however that no contact has yet been made with the German authorities on the issue.

About his first days as a deliveryman, Sadaat recalls that “they were exciting, but difficult “, since it was a challenge for him to learn to move around the city by bicycle. However, he has managed to get the positive part out of it: “The more you go out and the more people you see, the more you learn,” he said.
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