Shavkat Mirziyoyev facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
|
|
|---|---|
|
Шавкат Мирзиёев
|
|
.jpg)
Official portrait, 2018
|
|
| 2nd President of Uzbekistan | |
| Assumed office 14 December 2016 Acting: 8 September 2016 – 14 December 2016 |
|
| Prime Minister | Himself Abdulla Aripov |
| Preceded by |
|
| 3rd Prime Minister of Uzbekistan | |
| In office 12 December 2003 – 14 December 2016 |
|
| President |
|
| Deputy |
|
| Preceded by | Oʻtkir Sultonov |
| Succeeded by | Abdulla Aripov |
| Chairman of the Organization of Turkic States | |
| Assumed office 11 November 2022 |
|
| Preceded by | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 July 1957 Zomin District, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Uzbekistan) |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party (2016–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
|
| Spouse | Ziroat Mirziyoyeva |
| Children | 3 |
| Residences | Qibray District, Tashkent |
| Alma mater | Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration |
| Website | https://president.uz/en |
Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician. He has been the President of Uzbekistan and the top leader of the country's armed forces since December 14, 2016. Before becoming president, Mr. Mirziyoyev served as the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan from 2003 to 2016.
He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. In 1990, he was elected as a representative to the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. From the mid-1990s, he led the Jizzakh and Samarqand regions as a governor. Later, he was chosen by then-President Islam Karimov to lead the government.
After President Karimov passed away, Mr. Mirziyoyev became the acting president on September 8, 2016. He was then elected president in the 2016 election with 88.6% of the votes. He was re-elected in 2021 and again in 2023.
As president, Mr. Mirziyoyev has made many changes to Uzbekistan's political and economic systems. He has worked to bring in money from other countries and improve relationships with nearby Central Asian nations. He also released political prisoners and closed the well-known Jaslyk Prison in 2019. In 2021, he announced plans for new rules in the country's constitution. These changes included ending the death penalty and protecting human rights. These new rules were approved in a vote in 2023.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Shavkat Mirziyoyev was born on July 24, 1957, in the Jizzakh Region of the Uzbek SSR. His father, Miromon Mirziyoyev, was a doctor who worked as the head physician of a tuberculosis clinic. Shavkat's mother, Marifat, was a nurse who sadly passed away from tuberculosis when he was young.
In 1981, Mr. Mirziyoyev finished his studies at the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration. He earned a degree in Technological Sciences. In the late 1980s, he became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In 1990, he was elected as a deputy in the last parliament of the Uzbek SSR before Uzbekistan became independent in 1991.
Political Journey
Mr. Mirziyoyev served as the governor (called Hakim) of Jizzakh Region from 1996 to 2001. After that, he was the governor of Samarqand Region from 2001 until 2003.
In December 2003, President Islam Karimov chose him to be the Prime Minister. The Uzbek parliament approved this choice. He took over from Oʻtkir Sultonov.
Working with Other Countries as Prime Minister
On September 25, 2006, Mr. Mirziyoyev met with Han Myeong-sook, the Prime Minister of South Korea, in Tashkent. They signed several agreements. One important deal was for Uzbekistan to send 300 tons of uranium ore to South Korea each year from 2010 to 2014. This agreement changed how South Korea got its uranium from Uzbekistan.
They also agreed to work more closely in areas like energy, farming, building, and information technology. Trade between South Korea and Uzbekistan grew a lot between 2005 and 2006.
Becoming President
.jpg)
After President Islam Karimov passed away on September 2, 2016, Mr. Mirziyoyev was chosen to lead the committee for the President's funeral. This was seen as a sign that he would become the next president. On September 8, 2016, a special meeting of parliament appointed him as the interim president.
Many people hoped that Mr. Mirziyoyev would improve Uzbekistan's relationships with neighboring countries like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He began to resolve a long-standing border issue with Kyrgyzstan. Also, regular flights between the capitals of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan started again in January 2017, for the first time since 1992.
On December 4, 2016, Mr. Mirziyoyev won the presidential election with 88.6% of the votes. He was sworn in as president on December 14. He promised to continue the work of Islam Karimov and make many changes in the government.
On October 24, 2021, Uzbekistan's Central Election Commission announced that Mr. Mirziyoyev received 80.1 percent of the vote. This meant he would serve a second five-year term.
His Time as President
Many experts believed that Mr. Mirziyoyev would be a better president than his predecessor. He started to make changes to old policies that had held back Uzbekistan's economy and isolated the country from others.
Uzbekistan created more than 336,000 new jobs in 2017. The amount of goods exported from the country increased by almost 15 percent. Mr. Mirziyoyev also started the "Tashkent City" project to attract foreign investors to Uzbekistan. He promised to restart talks about Uzbekistan joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). He has also openly criticized government officials in front of the media.
On December 22, for the first time in the country's history, Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke to the parliament for four hours. He talked about problems like corruption and how it affected investment projects.
.jpg)
Some people think Mr. Mirziyoyev wants to be remembered as a reformer. He has replaced many old officials and urged the government to hire "new, young people who love their country." After a year in office, he started to move away from his predecessor's policies, especially in how he handles foreign relations. He visited all regions and major cities in Uzbekistan to check on the progress of his projects and reforms. Many people have compared his leadership to that of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping or Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev, calling his rule an "Uzbek Spring."
In August 2019, he closed the well-known Jaslyk Prison.
Changes to the Constitution
On July 1, 2022, protests happened in the region of Karakalpakstan. This was because of proposed changes to the Constitution of Uzbekistan. These changes would have removed Karakalpakstan's special status as an autonomous region and its right to leave Uzbekistan through a vote. The protests led to unrest, and at least 18 people died. The controversial proposal was later removed.
In April 2023, a vote was held in Uzbekistan to change the constitution. The new rules increased the presidential term from 5 to 7 years. The number of terms a president can serve is still limited to two. However, because of the change, Mr. Mirziyoyev's previous terms are not counted. Soon after, he called for early elections, which took place on July 9, 2023. Mr. Mirziyoyev won with 87% of the votes.
Foreign Policy and International Relations
.jpg)
Mr. Mirziyoyev's foreign policy is much more open than that of the previous president. Uzbekistan was quite isolated after the Andijan massacre in 2005. Mr. Karimov rarely traveled outside Central Asia. Mr. Mirziyoyev promised to have an active foreign policy when he started his term.
In his first 10 months, Mr. Mirziyoyev visited Kazakhstan four times, Turkmenistan three times, and Russia twice. He also visited China, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Turkey, and Kyrgyzstan. He met with leaders from Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, Belarus, and the King of Spain.
Working with Neighboring Countries
One of his biggest successes in foreign policy is improving relations with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. On September 5, 2017, he made a historic visit to Kyrgyzstan. This was the first time an Uzbek president had made a state visit to that country since 2000. On September 19, 2017, Mr. Mirziyoyev spoke at the UN General Assembly for the first time.
In March 2018, Mr. Mirziyoyev visited Tajikistan. This was the first time an Uzbek president had made a state visit to Dushanbe since 2000.
In March 2019, Mr. Mirziyoyev spoke with Nursultan Nazarbayev on the phone after Nazarbayev resigned from office. He told the former president that he was a "great politician." During a visit to Abu Dhabi in March 2019, Mr. Mirziyoyev discussed deals worth over $10 billion with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. These deals were for things like buildings, alternative energy, and farming.
In 2022, Uzbekistan hosted the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Samarkand. Many world leaders attended this summit. To prepare for the summit, the president ordered the city to be redeveloped. This included building a new international airport and a tourism complex.
Role in Afghanistan
Mr. Mirziyoyev has also played an important role in Afghanistan. He offered to host peace talks between the government and the Taliban starting in March 2018. In August 2018, a Taliban group visited Tashkent at Mr. Mirziyoyev's request. They discussed topics like transport, power, and peace in Afghanistan.
.jpg)
Cultural Policy
In October 2020, Mr. Mirziyoyev issued a rule to speed up the full change of the Uzbek language to the Latin alphabet. This rule set out language plans for 2020–2030. It aimed to reform the Uzbek language and make it more widely used. One main part of the rule called for a plan to fully switch to the Uzbek alphabet based on the Latin alphabet. It also required government officials to be certified in their knowledge of Uzbek by April 2021.
Personal Life
Shavkat Mirziyoyev is married to Ziroat Mirziyoyeva. They have two daughters, a son, and six grandchildren. His eldest daughter works in the communications and information policy section of the president's office. His eldest son-in-law, Oybek Tursunov, is the current head of Mr. Mirziyoyev's presidential administration. His younger son-in-law, Otabek Umarov, leads the presidential security services.
Since becoming president, Mr. Mirziyoyev has built a new home for himself in Qibray District. It is said to include a special presidential highway and be decorated with marble and Swarovski crystals.
In February 2021, it was reported that Mr. Mirziyoyev was building a private mountain area, which includes a new water reservoir. This area is about 100 kilometers from Tashkent and has a large house built for Mr. Mirziyoyev and his family.
Awards and Honors
- From Uzbekistan
- Order "Mehnat shuhrati"
- Order "Fidokorona xizmatlari uchun"
- From Other Countries
- Order of Danaker (Kyrgyzstan, 2017)
- Honored Citizen of Seoul (South Korea, 2018)
- Prize “For Merits to Eurasia” (Turkey, 2018)
- Order of Friendship (Kazakhstan, 2018)
- Honorary Doctorate from Nagoya University (Japan, 2019)
- Order of the Crown (Tajikistan, 2021)
- Order of Alexander Nevsky (Russia, 2022)
- Order of the Golden Eagle (Kazakhstan, 2024)
|
See also
In Spanish: Shavkat Mirziyoyev para niños
