Early History and Personal Life
Khalilzad was born in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan to a Sunni Pashtun father. His parents originated from Laghman Province of Afghanistan, and the family moved to Mazar-i-Sharif when his father was a government official under the monarchy of Mohammed Zahir Shah. Khalilzad is fluent in English, Pashto, Dari (Persian) and Arabic languages.
Khalilzad began his education at the public Ghazi Lycée school in Kabul. He first spent time in the United States as a Ceres, California high school exchange student with AFS Intercultural Programs. Later, he attained his bachelor's and master's degrees from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. Khalilzad received his PhD at the University of Chicago in The United States, where he studied closely with strategic thinker Albert Wohlstetter, a prominent nuclear deterrence thinker and strategist, who provided Zalmay with contacts in the government and with RAND.
Khalilzad is married to author and political analyst Cheryl Benard, whom he met in 1972 when they were both students at the American University of Beirut. They have two children, Alexander and Maximilian.
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