Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Biography

Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev was born on July 24, 1957, in Zaamin District, Uzbekistan. He studied at the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration, training as an engineer in water management and agricultural systems. After graduating, Mirziyoyev worked as an engineer and later became a university teacher before entering politics.

Mirziyoyev's political career began in the late 1980s when he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In 1990, he was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR, marking his entry into government service. Throughout the mid-1990s, he gained experience as governor (hakim) of several regions, including Jizzakh and Samarkand, where he focused on regional governance and economic development.

In 2003, President Islam Karimov appointed Mirziyoyev as Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, a position he held for thirteen years until 2016. As Prime Minister, he managed various economic and infrastructure projects under Karimov's regime. After Karimov's death in September 2016, the Oliy Majlis appointed Mirziyoyev as acting president, and he later won the presidential election with 88.6% of the vote as a candidate of the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party.

As president, Mirziyoyev introduced significant reforms in many areas of Uzbek society. His administration implemented economic liberalization, including currency reforms, better business policies, and efforts to attract foreign investment. He also worked on Uzbekistan's return to international organizations, including efforts to rejoin the World Trade Organization. At home, his government released political prisoners and closed the Jaslyk Prison in 2019. Mirziyoyev was re-elected in 2021 with 80.3% of the vote and again in 2023 with 87.7% as an independent candidate after constitutional amendments reset his term limits.

Since 2022, Mirziyoyev has been the chairman of the Organization of Turkic States, expanding his role in regional affairs. He is married to Ziroat Mirziyoyeva and has received several international honors from different countries for his diplomatic and reform efforts. His presidency has been marked by moving away from his predecessor's isolationist policies, seeking better cooperation with Western, European, Eastern, and Middle Eastern countries while working to strengthen Central Asian regional ties.