From a mechanical engineer to the president of the country: the career and life of Shavkat Mirziyoyev

It is unlikely that on July 24, 1957, the doctor Miromon Mirziev could have imagined that the future president of the Republic of Uzbekistan was born in his family. But for 7 years now, Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev has been ruling Uzbekistan and, based on the results of the recent elections, will remain head of state for at least another 5 years. How did the son of doctors (Mirziyoyev’s father and mother were phthisiatricians) and a mechanical engineer by education come to power in the country?

Political career of Shavkat Mirziyoyev

The current president of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev entered politics 33 years ago, when he was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Council of the republic. Just 2 years later, in 1992, Mirzeev received the post of khokim of the Mirzo-Ulugbek district of Tashkent. Then, from 1996 to 2003, he ruled the Jizzakh and Samarkand regions. Shakat Mirziyoyev’s great contribution to the development of the governed territories, as well as active work in the Olay Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, allowed him to take the post of Prime Minister of the republic in 2003. Mirziyoyev worked in this position for 13 years, until in 2016 he replaced the deceased Islam Karimov as president of the republic.

In December 2016, in early elections, Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected as the new president of the republic, gaining more than 88% of the votes. The new president quickly consolidated his power, gaining the trust of the population. He used his authority to accelerate the development of the country, which allowed him to be re-elected as president in 2021, with 80% of voters voting for him. And in 2023, on the initiative of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a constitutional reform was adopted in a referendum, which allowed the president to stand for election after two terms. And in July 2023, in early elections, Mirziyoyev was again chosen as the head of the state for the next 5 years.

Family of Shavkat Mirziyoyev

On this long path to the heights of Uzbek politics, Shavkat Miromonovich was accompanied by his wife Ziroathon Khashimova. The couple met back in their student years and spent their entire lives together. The head of Uzbekistan has three children:

• eldest daughter Saida, who now works as deputy director of the Agency of Information and Mass Communications under the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan
• youngest daughter Shakhnoza now works at the Ministry of Preschool Education
• son Miralisher is just getting ready to work in politics, as he is 14 years old

Maybe in a few years Miralisher will continue his father’s work and also become a real leader of his republic.