- In full:
- Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev
- Born:
- July 24, 1957, Zaamin district, Jizzakh region, Uzbekistan (age 69)
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
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Who is Shavkat Mirziyoyev?
Shavkat Mirziyoyev is an Uzbek politician who was born on July 24, 1957. He served as Uzbekistan’s prime minister from 2003 to 2016, and then became president in 2016. After the death of Islam Karimov in September 2016, Mirziyoyev was selected by parliament to serve as interim president and later won a full term in the presidential election in December 2016.
Mirziyoyev's presidency has been noted for efforts toward economic reform and liberalization, including lifting trade barriers and encouraging foreign investment. Despite these shifts, concerns have remained regarding the authoritarian nature of the government. In 2021, Mirziyoyev won a second term and initiated constitutional reforms, but some of these reforms faced controversy.
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What country does Shavkat Mirziyoyev lead as president?
Shavkat Mirziyoyev is the president of Uzbekistan, having served in that role since 2016. His presidency has been noted for efforts toward economic reform and liberalization, including lifting trade barriers and encouraging foreign investment. Although he has shown some concern for human rights issues, the government under his leadership has remained authoritarian in nature. Mirziyoyev secured a second term in 2021 and initiated constitutional reforms that, while enshrining new rights and freedoms, also controversially reset the presidential term limits, allowing him to run for office again.
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When did Shavkat Mirziyoyev become president of Uzbekistan?
Shavkat Mirziyoyev became interim president of Uzbekistan in September 2016, following the death of Islam Karimov. In December 2016, Mirziyoyev won the presidential election with nearly 90 percent of the vote, securing a full term in office. His presidency has been noted for efforts to open the economy, improve international relations, and address human rights issues. Despite these reforms, concerns remain regarding the authoritarian nature of the government under his leadership. Mirziyoyev won a second term in 2021.
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What were some important changes Mirziyoyev made as president?
Shavkat Mirziyoyev's presidency in Uzbekistan has been marked by significant efforts toward economic reform and liberalization. His policies included lifting trade barriers, allowing the currency to float, and encouraging foreign investment. Relations with the international community improved, particularly with Tajikistan, on matters of water security.
Mirziyoyev also granted greater openness to the press and showed concern for human rights issues by releasing political prisoners. However, forced labor in the cotton industry was slow to end. Despite these shifts, concerns remained regarding the authoritarian nature of the government. While he removed old elites, he replaced them with his allies.
Constitutional reforms under Mirziyoyev enshrined new civil rights, personal freedoms, and protections for a free market economy. These reforms also extended presidential terms to seven years and reset the two-term limit for Mirziyoyev, allowing him to run for and win a third term.
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How has Mirziyoyev affected Uzbekistan's relationships with other countries?
Shavkat Mirziyoyev's presidency has brought significant changes to Uzbekistan's relationships with other countries. His policies have reduced barriers to trade, allowed the currency to float, and encouraged foreign investment. Relations with the international community have improved, particularly with Tajikistan. Where the previous president had threatened war over the construction of the Rogun Dam, Mirziyoyev instead offered to coordinate with Tajikistan on its hydraulic efforts. He has also shown concern for human rights issues, releasing political prisoners and tolerating some protests. These efforts have been viewed by some observers as motivated primarily by economic development.
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What challenges has Shavkat Mirziyoyev faced during his presidency?
During his presidency, Shavkat Mirziyoyev has faced challenges related to maintaining an authoritarian government while initiating reforms. Although he replaced many members of the old guard with his own allies, indicating his commitment to reform, this also showed his resolve to implement his policies with minimal resistance.
Mirziyoyev's efforts to liberalize Uzbekistan involved constitutional reforms, but these were met with controversy, such as the initial abolishment of Karakalpakstan's right to secession, which led to deadly protests. Despite these reforms, observers have noted the continuation of authoritarian behavior, suggesting that the changes are primarily motivated by economic development rather than civic development.
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Shavkat Mirziyoyev (born July 24, 1957, Zaamin district, Jizzakh region, Uzbekistan) is an Uzbek politician who served as Uzbekistan’s prime minister (2003–16) and president (2016– ). A younger protégé of the repressive president Islam Karimov (1991–2016), he became known for his management of economic development, both before becoming president and during his presidential tenure.
Early career and term as prime minister
In February 1990, on the eve of the Soviet Union’s disintegration, Mirziyoyev joined the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic and served under Karimov, who became president of the soviet in March. As an independent republic took shape in Uzbekistan, Mirziyoyev was appointed governor (khokim) of Tashkent’s Mirzo Ulugbek district in 1992. Beginning in 1995, he served simultaneously as the district’s governor and as a deputy of the Oliy Majlis (parliament), a post he retained until 2003. In 1996 Karimov appointed him governor of the Jizzakh region, where he earned a reputation as a strongman dedicated to development, especially in the region’s production of cotton. He was transferred to the Samarkand region in 2001, where he also served as governor.
In 2003 Karimov appointed Mirziyoyev to the post of prime minister. Besides his success in economic management, the appointment of Mirziyoyev, in his mid-40s, inaugurated a new generation into the country’s top policy-making positions. Early in his premiership, he sought to identify and fix structural problems in the economy, and throughout his tenure he implemented programs that reformed aspects of the agricultural sector and improved living standards in rural areas.
After the death of Karimov in September 2016, the parliament selected Mirziyoyev to serve as interim president. He later won a full term in presidential elections held in December.
Presidency
His presidency was marked by surprising efforts toward economic reform and liberalization. His policies lifted many barriers to trade, allowed the currency to float, and courted foreign investment. Relations with the international community improved, perhaps most notably with Tajikistan: only a few years after Karimov threatened war over Tajikistan’s construction of the Rogun Dam (which presented considerable risk to Uzbekistan’s water security), Mirziyoyev offered instead to coordinate with its upstream neighbour in its hydraulic endeavours. He granted greater openness to the press. And he showed at least token concern for human rights issues; he released political prisoners and tolerated protests in 2019 but was slow to end forced labour in the cotton industry.
Despite the shifts in policy that were initiated by Mirziyoyev, concerns remained over the continued authoritarian nature of the government under his tenure. In removing, sidelining, and publicly criticizing much of the old guard elite, Mirziyoyev indicated his commitment to reform. But by replacing them with his own allies, he also indicated his determination to see his policies through with minimal resistance.
In 2021 Mirziyoyev won a second term in an election without any viable competition. In continuation of his efforts to liberalize Uzbekistan, he made constitutional reforms an early priority of his new term. The reforms enshrined new civil rights (including habeas corpus), personal freedoms (such as the right to protect personal data), guarantees for social welfare (such as the right to housing), and protections for a free market economy (including a right to entrepreneurial activity). But they were not without controversy. Early drafts abolished the constitutional right of secession for Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in the country’s northwest; that provision was removed after deadly protests took place against it in July 2022. A referendum on the revised constitution was set for April 2023, although it faced little opposition amid a lack of public criticism.
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The constitutional reforms also allowed Mirziyoyev to extend his tenure as president. Presidential terms were expanded to seven years from five, and the two-term limit was reset for Mirziyoyev with the promulgation of the revised constitution. Days after the new constitution took effect in May, Mirziyoyev called for an early presidential election. With little opportunity for any opposition to mobilize, he won in a landslide when the election was held in July.