Ehsan Bayat is an Afghan

Afghan

Afghan may refer to:* The country of Afghanistan, as abbreviated in reports as Afghan, or Afg.* Someone or something related to Afghanistan, see also Demography of Afghanistan* Afghan cuisine...

 business

Business

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

 entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 from the New York metropolitan area

New York metropolitan area

The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...

. He is an ethnic Qizilbash originally from Ghazni

Ghazni

For the Province of Ghazni see Ghazni ProvinceGhazni is a city in central-east Afghanistan with a population of about 141,000 people...

, Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. In 1979 or 1980, he went to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and obtained a bachelor degree in engineering. His family was influential in the commercial section of Afghanistan. After the fall of Taliban's regime he came back to his country and founded Afghan Wireless Communication Company and Bayat Foundation, which the latter played a crucial role on opening the Ariana Television Network, that has large audiences not only in Afghanistan but also among Afghan refugees in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

In January 2009 an article by Ahmad Majidyar of the American Enterprise Institute

American Enterprise Institute

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...

 included Bayat on a list of fifteen possible candidates in the 2009 Afghan Presidential election.