The ambassador of Spain to Afghanistan is the official representative of the Kingdom of Spain to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan and Spain established diplomatic relations in 1950. That same year, Spain appointed Juan Manuel Aristegui y Vidaurre as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. After the appointment in 1958 of Emilio García Gómez, ambassador to Iraq, the non-resident embassy followed him in his other assignments —Lebanon and Turkey—, serving as envoy and ambasador to Afghanistan for almost 12 years. In 1968, the Diplomatic Representation was elevated to the rank of Embassy. From 1974 to 1979, the ambassador to Turkey was dually accredited to Afghanistan.
Both countries broke off diplomatic relations after the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. They were reestablished in 2002, with the appointment of Antonio Segura Morís as ambassador, resident in Islamabad. Between 2004 and 2006, two other ambassadors served in the area, one for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and another as ambassador-at-large for the Reconstruction and Political Stability of Afghanistan.
In December 2015, the Spanish embassy was the target of a Taliban terrorist attack that left nine people dead, including four Afghan and two Spanish police officers.
During the 2021 Taliban offensive, ambassador , son of former diplomat Gabriel Ferrán de Alfaro, stayed in the Afghan capital despite having been dismissed ten days before the fall of the Afghan government; he decided to stay until the evacuation was completed and no Spaniards remained in the country. For his actions, he was later rewarded with the Cross of the Order of Police Merit, with White Decoration. Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021, the Foreign Ministry closed the Embassy of Spain in Kabul and transferred operations to Doha, Qatar (ambassador's residence), and Islamabad, Pakistan (visas and consular affairs). In December 2025, an ambassador-at-large for Afghanistan was appointed to replace the ordinary ambassador.
List of envoys and ambassadors AmbassadorTermNominated byAppointed byAccredited toEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary -Juan Manuel Aristegui y Vidaurre10 January 1953()Alberto Martín-ArtajoFrancisco FrancoMohammad Zahir Shah -Pedro E. Schwartz y Díaz-Flores1 November 1956() -José Ricardo Gómez-Acebo y Vázquez25 June 1958() -Emilio García Gómez13 January 1968()Fernando María CastiellaAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary1Emilio García Gómez17 November 1969()Fernando María CastiellaFrancisco FrancoMohammad Zahir Shah224 March 1973()Gregorio López-Bravo3Carmelo Matesanz Rojo25 October 1975()Pedro Cortina MauriMohammad Daoud Khan4Aurelio Valls Carreras28 December 1979()León Herrera Esteban (acting)No diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan nor the Islamic State of Afghanistan5Antonio Segura Morís1 February 2005()Ana PalacioJuan Carlos IHamid Karzai -17 December 2005()Miguel Ángel Moratinos -José Luis Solano Gadea29 July 2006()69 October 2010()Hamid Karzai730 May 2015()Trinidad Jiménez8Emilio Pérez de Ágreda Sáez15 September 2018()José Manuel García-MargalloFelipe VIAshraf Ghani94 August 2021()Josep Borrell104 December 2025()José Manuel Albares - -present() -
See also Afghanistan–Spain relations
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