Islam Karimov

Islam Karimov
Ислом Каримов
Karimov in 2002
1st President of Uzbekistan
In office
1 September 1991 – 2 September 2016
Prime MinisterAbdulhashim Mutalov
Oʻtkir Sultonov
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Vice PresidentShukrullo Mirsaidov
(1991–1992)
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byNigmatilla Yuldashev (acting)
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
President of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
In office
24 March 1990 – 1 September 1991
Vice PresidentShukrullo Mirsaidov
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan
In office
23 June 1989 – 1 September 1991
Preceded byRafiq Nishonov
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Personal details
Born(1938-01-30)30 January 1938
Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
(present-day Uzbekistan)
Died2 September 2016(2016-09-02) (aged 78)
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Resting placeHazrat Khizr Mosque
PartyLiberal Democratic (2007–2016)
Other political
affiliations
CPU (before 1991)
People's Democratic (1991–2007)
Spouse(s)Natalya Kuchmi (m. 1964; div. circa 1966)
Tatyana Karimova (m. 1967)
Children
Signature
Websiteislomkarimov.uz
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Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan from 1989 to 1991, when the party was reconstituted as the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (O‘zXDP); he led the O‘zXDP until 1996. He was the President of the Uzbek SSR from 24 March 1990 until he declared the independence of Uzbekistan on 1 September 1991.

He declared Uzbekistan as an independent nation on 31 August 1991. He subsequently won the presidential election on 30 December 1991, with 86% of the vote. Foreign observers and the opposition cited voting irregularities, alleging state-run propaganda and a falsified vote count. Karimov's first presidential term was extended to 2000 by way of a referendum, and he was re-elected in 2000, 2007 and 2015, each time receiving over 90% of the vote. He died from a stroke on 2 September 2016, after being president of the country for 25 years.

He ruled a repressive authoritarian regime in Uzbekistan where political opponents were assassinated, human rights were repressed, and dissent was prohibited.