Shavkat Mirziyayev Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Country: Uzbekistan

Biography of Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the current Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, was born in 1957 in the Zaamin district of the Jizzakh region of the Uzbek SSR. His parents were originally from Tajikistan. Unfortunately, when Shavkat was very young, his mother passed away from bone tuberculosis. His father then pursued a career in medicine, specializing in treating tuberculosis, dedicating his life to fighting against the disease. Soon after, his father remarried and Shavkat had to move in with his uncle due to the harsh treatment from his stepmother.

After completing school, Shavkat Mirziyoyev enrolled in the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Mechanization of Agriculture. During his time there, he served as the secretary of the Komsomol organization and later became a party organizer and vice-rector at the same institute. He then went on to hold the position of hokim (governor) of the Kuibyshev district in Tashkent and in 1996, he became the head of the administration of the Jizzakh region.

Critics of Mirziyoyev claim that his rapid career progression was due to his marriage to the daughter of one of the ministers. However, it cannot be denied that even during his time as the head of the administration, Mirziyoyev established himself as a tough and even cruel leader. He was never hesitant to use strong language and was known to resort to physical violence. It is said that on one occasion, he forced several collective farm chairmen who failed to meet the cotton harvest target to strip naked and stand in cold water for four hours. Human rights activists in Uzbekistan also accused Mirziyoyev of not only physical abuse but also of being responsible for the deaths of several individuals. There were even rumors that the future Prime Minister of Uzbekistan once shot and killed an 11-year-old boy who dared to let livestock into a cotton field.

Despite these accusations being repeatedly mentioned in Uzbek media, Shavkat Mirziyoyev never attempted to refute them. He has never been a public figure, so his first published photograph in 2006 was considered a significant event. Since December 11, 2003, Shavkat Mirziyoyev has held the position of Prime Minister of Uzbekistan. He enjoys the support of the so-called "Samarkand clan," represented by the head of the Presidential Administration's Department of Internal Affairs, Khaidarov, and the advisor on state personnel, Ismailov. Due to his lack of international experience, Shavkat Mirziyoyev rarely leaves the boundaries of Uzbekistan.