A Sulaimankhel Ghilzay Pashtun, Sulaiman Laweq, initially a student of the College of Theology, graduated from the College of Literature in 1957. His father was a representative (khalifa) of the Mojaddidi family; hence, Ghulam Mojaddidi (Slave of Mojaddidi) was Laweq's original name. His family was also related to the Mojaddidi family by marriage.
An excellent poet and a writer in Pashto and Dari, Laweq held various posts in the government-controlled mass media from the time he graduated until 1968, when he began editing Parcham. By this time he had become a member of the central committee of the Parcham faction of the PDPA and a close associate of Khybar, his brother-in-law.
After the communist coup he became the minister of radio and television and for a time was admitted to membership of the politburo after the government had expelled the Parchamis. Then he was imprisoned for being pro-Karmal, but the authorities treated him mildly. Following the invasion, Laweq held some unimportant posts until 1981, when he was promoted to membership in the central committee and appointed president of the Academy of Sciences and minister of tribes and nationalities.
