Islam Karimov

Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who became the country’s first president after independence in 1991 and held that office until his death. Before that, he served as the last First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan from 1989 to 1991, a role that later evolved into leading the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (O‘zXDP) until 1996. He was also President of the Uzbek SSR from 24 March 1990 until declaring independence on 1 September 1991. Karimov announced Uzbekistan’s independence on 31 August 1991. In the presidential election held on 30 December 1991, he won with 86% of the vote, though foreign observers and opposition groups pointed to irregularities, including state-run propaganda and a falsified count. His first term was extended to 2000 via a referendum, and he was re-elected in 2000, 2007, and 2015, each time receiving over 90% of the vote. Early in his rule, he built strong ties with the West during the War on Terror, but after the Andijan massacre and the resulting Western criticism, Uzbekistan shifted closer to Russia and China. His government was widely seen as a repressive authoritarian regime. Political opponents were assassinated, human rights were suppressed, and dissent was not allowed. Karimov died from a stroke on 2 September 2016, after 25 years as president. Born in Samarkand to Uzbek parents who were civil servants, his father was Abdug'ani Karimov and his mother Sanobar Karimova. He spent time in an orphanage in 1941, returned home in 1942, and went back to the orphanage in 1945. After graduating high school in 1955, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Central Asian Polytechnic Institute (now Tashkent State Technical University) in 1960. He began work as an engineer and later joined the Ministry of Water Resources of the Uzbek SSR. In 1967, he obtained a master’s degree in economics from Tashkent State University of Economics. From 1966 to 1986, he moved up through the Uzbek State Planning Committee, holding roles such as chief specialist, department head, Minister of Finance of the Uzbek SSR, chairman of the State Planning Committee, and deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers. In 1986, he became first secretary of the Kashkadarya Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan. In 1989, he was appointed first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Uzbek SSR, after his predecessor Rafiq Nishonov failed to manage inter-ethnic clashes and instability in the Fergana Region. From 1990 to 1991, he served on the Central Committee and Politburo. On 24 March 1990, the Uzbek Supreme Soviet elected him the first President of the Republic. On 31 August 1991, ten days after the attempted coup in Moscow, Karimov declared Uzbekistan an independent republic—the second Central Asian republic to do so, after Kyrgyzstan. September 1 became Independence Day. The Uzbek Communist Party renamed itself the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan. In the December 1991 presidential election, 86% voted for Karimov, while 12.3% backed Muhammad Salih, chairman of the Erk Party. During his presidency, Uzbekistan was classified as a hard authoritarian state. The government’s main claims to legitimacy were anti-Islamism and ethnic identity. After a brief period of political tolerance, Karimov implemented measures that blocked alternative political leaders from forming coalitions. In 1992, he completed the hajj. In 1995, a few months before his term was to end, a referendum extended it until 2000, with 99.6% of voters in favor. The United States criticized the lack of public debate and noted instances where one person cast votes for an entire family. After the referendum, the 1996 Law on Political Parties tightened restrictions: opposition parties could hold meetings, publish, and run in elections only if registered with the Ministry of Justice, which allowed the government to block unapproved groups. Parties based on ethnic, religious, military, or subversive ideas were banned. Karimov initially said the referendum counted as a re-election, meaning he would have to leave office in 2000 under the Constitution, but the legislature opposed this, so he ran again. In the 9 January 2000 election, he won 91.9% of the vote. The United States called the election neither free nor fair, offering voters no real choice. The sole opposition candidate, Abdulhafiz Jalalov, publicly admitted he entered only to create a democratic appearance and said he voted for Karimov.