Islom Karimov

Islom Abdug‘aniyevich Karimov Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов
1st President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Incumbent
Assumed office  1991
Born	January 30 1938 (1938--) (age 69) Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Uzbekistani
Political party	Self-Sacrifice National Democratic Party
Spouse	Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova

Islom Abdug‘aniyevich Karimov (Russian: Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov) (born on 30 January 1938) has served as the President of Uzbekistan since 1991.

Karimov was born in Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union. He is half-Uzbek, on his father's side, and half-Tajik on his mother's side. He grew up in a Soviet state-orphanage. Later he studied engineering and economics in Tashkent.

Rise to power

Karimov became an official in the Communist Party of the USSR, becoming the party's First Secretary in Uzbekistan in 1989. On 24 March 1990 he became President of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. He declared Uzbekistan an independent nation on 31 August 1991. He won Uzbekistan's first presidential election on 29 December with 86% of the vote. The elections were called unfair, with state-run propaganda and a falsified vote count, although the opposing candidate and leader of the Erk (Freedom) Party, Muhammad Solih, had a chance to participate. Shortly after the elections, a harsh political clampdown forced opposition leaders into exile, while many have been issued long-term prison sentences and a few have disappeared.

Presidency

In 1995, Karimov extended his term until 2000 through a widely criticized referendum, and he was re-elected with 91.9% of the vote on January 9, 2000. The United States said that this election "was neither free nor fair and offered Uzbekistan's voters no true choice"^[1]. The sole opposition candidate, Abdulhasiz Jalalov, admitted that he entered the race only to make it seem democratic and he voted for Karimov. On January 27, 2002, Karimov won another referendum extending the length of presidential terms from five to seven years; Karimov's present term, formerly due to end in 2005, was subsequently extended by parliament, which scheduled the next elections for December 2007.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks Uzbekistan was considered a strategic ally in the United States' "War on Terrorism" campaign because of a mutual opposition to the Taliban. Uzbekistan hosted an 800-strong U.S. troop presence at the Karshi-Khanabad base, also known as "K2", which supported U.S.-led efforts in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.^[2] This move was criticized by Human Rights Watch which said the U.S. government subordinated the promotion of human rights to assistance in the War in Afghanistan. U.S.-Uzbek relations deteriorated in May 2005 when the U.S. government criticized the Uzbek government's reaction to protests in Andijan. In July of 2005 U.S. military forces left Karshi-Khanabad.^[3]

Karimov has mobilized against the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Islamist organizations the government has designated as terrorist.^[4]. The Uzbek government sentenced Tohir Yo‘ldosh and Juma Namangani, leaders of the IMU, to death in absentia.^[5] Namangani died in Afghanistan in 2001 but Tohir Yo‘ldosh is still alive.^[6]

Karimov is generally considered to be constitutionally barred from seeking another term in the December 2007 presidential election due to term limits, although it is widely believed that he will somehow run again regardless. On October 4 2007, the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party said that it intends to nominate Karimov for another term.^[7]

Criticism

The international community has repeatedly criticized the Karimov administration's record on human rights and press freedom. In particular, Craig Murray, the British Ambassador from 2002 to 2004, wrote about financial corruption and human rights abuses during his term in office and later in his memoirs Murder in Samarkand ^[8], pointing to reports of boiling people to death. The United Nations found torture "institutionalized, systematic, and rampant" in Uzbekistan's judicial system.^[9]

Personal life

Karimov's wife, Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova, is an economist.^[10] They have two daughters and three grandchildren. His elder daughter, Gulnora Karimova, serves as an advisor for Uzbekistan's ambassador to Russia and is believed to have built an extensive business empire that includes the largest wireless telephone operator in the country, night clubs, and a large cement factory.^[11]

See also

• Politics of Uzbekistan

References

External links

• Official biography
• Profile on BBC News

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