About Mohammed Daoud Mohammed Daoud (Daud) Khan or Muḥammad Dāwud Ḫān (July 18, 1909 – April 28, 1978) was an Afghan prince and politician in Afghanistan who overthrew the monarchy of his first cousin Mohammed Zahir Shah and became the first President of Afghanistan from 1973 until his assassination in 1978 as a result of a revolution led by the Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Daud was known for his progressive policies, especially in relation to the rights of women, for initiating two five-year modernization plans.