Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, born on July twenty-fourth, nineteen fifty-seven, is a prominent Uzbek politician and engineer who has been serving as the second president of Uzbekistan since two thousand sixteen. A member of the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party, he previously held the position of prime minister under President Islam Karimov from two thousand three until two thousand sixteen. In addition to his presidential duties, Mirziyoyev has been the chairman of the Organization of Turkic States since two thousand twenty-two.

His political journey began in the late nineteen eighties when he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Mirziyoyev was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR in nineteen ninety. He later became the governor of Jizzakh and Samarqand in the mid-nineteen nineties, showcasing his leadership skills before being appointed as prime minister by President Karimov.

Following the death of Karimov, Mirziyoyev was appointed as acting president by the Oliy Majlis on September eighth, two thousand sixteen. He won a full five-year term in the same year, securing eighty-eight point six percent of the vote. His re-election in the two thousand twenty-one presidential election saw him garner eighty point three percent of the votes, and he was again elected for a renewed first seven-year term in a snap election in two thousand twenty-three, achieving eighty-seven point seven percent of the vote as an independent candidate with the backing of OʻzLiDeP.

Under his leadership, Mirziyoyev has initiated a series of liberal reforms aimed at transforming Uzbekistan’s political landscape and economy. His administration has focused on creating a favorable business climate, attracting foreign investment, and re-integrating the country into the World Trade Organization. He has also worked towards fostering unity in the Central Asian region and promoting an open foreign policy, while notably releasing political prisoners and closing the notorious Jaslyk Prison in two thousand nineteen.

In late two thousand twenty-one, he proposed constitutional reforms aimed at enhancing human rights protections, which were ratified in the two thousand twenty-three referendum with an overwhelming ninety point six percent support. However, one of the proposed changes, which sought to remove the semi-autonomous Karakalpakstan's right to secession, led to significant unrest in July two thousand twenty-two, resulting in a violent crackdown and the eventual withdrawal of the controversial proposal.