In this photograph taken on May 22, 2014, Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai addresses an election gathering in Kabul. Ashraf Ghani is an intellectual high-achiever with a famous temper who proudly describes himself as a "free spirit" -- and his rule as president of Afghanistan is unlikely to be dull. Ghani, now 65, enjoyed a stellar career as an academic and economist after leaving Afghanistan in 1977, only returning 24 years later to pursue his dream of rebuilding the country. [Xinhua photo]