Islam Karimov

Islam Karimov
Ислом Каримов
Islom Karimov
Karimov in June 2016
1st President of Uzbekistan
In office
1 September 1991 – 2 September 2016
Prime MinisterAbdulhashim Mutalov
Oʻtkir Sultonov
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Vice PresidentShukrullo Mirsaidov (until 1992)
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byNigmatilla Yuldashev (acting)
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
President of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
In office
24 March 1990 – 1 September 1991
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan
In office
23 June 1989 – 1 September 1991
Preceded byRafiq Nishonov
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Personal details
Born
Islom Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov

(1938-01-30)30 January 1938
Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
(now Uzbekistan)
Died2 September 2016(2016-09-02) (aged 78)
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Political partyCommunist Party of Uzbekistan (Before 1991)
People's Democratic Party (1991–2007)
Liberal Democratic Party (2007–2016)
Spouse(s)Natalya Kuchmi (m. 1964; div. circa 1966)
Tatyana Karimova (m. 1967; 2016; his death)
Children
Signature
Websiteislomkarimov.uz
Islam Karimov statue adjacent to Registon Square and Mausoleum.

Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (Uzbek: Islom Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov / Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов; Russian: Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов; 30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan from 1989 to 1991, when the party was reconstituted as the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (O‘zXDP); he led the O‘zXDP until 1996. He was the President of the Uzbek SSR from 24 March 1990 until he declared the independence of Uzbekistan on 1 September 1991.[2]

He declared Uzbekistan as an independent nation on 31 August 1991. He subsequently won the presidential election on 29 December 1991, with 86% of the vote. Foreign observers and the opposition cited voting irregularities,[3] alleging state-run propaganda and a falsified vote count. Karimov's first presidential term was extended to 2000 by way of a referendum, and he was re-elected in 2000, 2007 and 2015, each time receiving over 90% of the vote. He died from a stroke on 2 September 2016, after being president of the country for 25 years.[4]

He ruled a repressive authoritarian regime in Uzbekistan where political opponents were assassinated, human rights were repressed, and dissent was prohibited, however capital punishment was repealed in 1998.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ "Юртбаши умер – да здравствует юртбаши. Каримова сменит Мирзияев?". Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  2. ^ Hierman, Brent (2016). Russia and Eurasia 2016-2017. The World Today Series, 47th edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4758-2898-6. p. 314.
  3. ^ Armanini, A. J. (2002). Politics and Economics of Central Asia. Nova Publishers. p. 36. ISBN 9781590331828. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Islam Karimov: Uzbekistan president's death confirmed". BBC. 2 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Uzbek Leader Islam Karimov Was A Dictator In The Classic Mould". Sky News. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Uzbekistan plunged into uncertainty by death of dictator Islam Karimov". the Guardian. 2 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  7. ^ Schenkkan, Nate. "Islam Karimov and the Dictator's Playbook". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.