Uzbekistan has been actively developing recently. This is the merit of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who became president in 2016. If earlier the head of state was not very popular, and people often called him a dictator, today the Uzbek president is a true leader of public opinion.
About the leader
Shavkat Mirziyoyev is a mechanical engineer by education. He received his specialty in Tashkent, at the Institute of Irrigation and Land Reclamation. In the same city he met his future wife, Ziroathon Khoshimova. They have three children and five grandchildren. In general, the president has many relatives: the whole Mirziyoyev clan. And the head of state does not forget his relatives.
The leader of the country initially built a career as a scientist. After receiving higher education, he worked for quite a long time as a research assistant at his native institute. He has a Candidate of Technical Sciences degree, and at the time of receiving it he was one of the youngest scientists at the university.
The current head of Uzbekistan actively supports new technologies. He organized a virtual reception on his own website. Any citizen of the country can actually talk to the president personally. Shavkat Mirziyoyev also uses social networks – he has a profile on LinkedIn.
Activities of the President
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s technical career was quite rapid: back in 1992 he was a researcher, and in 2003 he became the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan. In 2016, the previous president died, and Nigmatilla Yuldoshev, chairman of the Senate, took over his duties – this is how the country’s legislation is structured. But quickly enough, Yuldoshev recused himself, and Shavkat Mirziyoyev took his place. The elections that followed proved the complete legitimacy of the new head of state: more than 80% of the votes were cast for him.
The political activities of Shavkat Mirziyoyev are continuous reforms. He freed political prisoners, banned child labor, and limited forced adult labor. He fought persecution on religious grounds, but did not propagate religion. He fought against corrupt officials and bureaucrats, significantly reducing their number. His economic reforms resulted in stable GDP growth of at least 5% annually.
In foreign policy, Shavkat Mirziyoyev adheres to a moderate line, actively cooperating with neighboring countries. USA, EU, Russia, China, Korea, India, Turkey – Uzbekistan is establishing contacts with everyone. But he avoids falling under the influence of others.
In 2023, numerous amendments were made to the constitution, expanding civil rights and freedoms, as well as increasing the term of presidential rule from five to seven years. These changes effectively reset the presidential term counter for Mirziyoyev. In Uzbekistan, you can be president for a maximum of two terms, but with early re-elections in 2023, a new timer opens for the old president. This allowed his reign to be extended until 2030 and potentially until 2037.