Amanullah Khan (Pashto: أمان الله خان, Dari: أمان الله خان, Urdu: أمانالله خان, June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the Sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Emir and after 1926 as Malik (King). He led Afghanistan to independence over its foreign affairs from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change. He was the first Afghan ruler who attempted to modernize Afghanistan on Western designs.