Islom Karimov
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robot Adding: [[simple:Islam Karimov]]
{{Infobox President
| name = Islom Abdug‘aniyevich Karimov<br>Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов
| image = Islam karimov cropped.jpg
| order = [[President of Uzbekistan]]
| primeminister = [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]]<br>[[O‘tkir Sultonov]]<br>[[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]]
| term_start = [[22 January]] [[1992]]
| predecessor = Office created
| order2 = [[Communist Party of Uzbekistan|General Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan]]
| term_start2 = [[23 June]] [[1989]]
| term_end2 = [[29 December]] [[1991]]
| predecessor2 = [[Rafiq Nishonov]]
| successor2 = Office abolished
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|01|30|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Samarkand]], [[Uzbek SSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
| spouse = [[Tatyana Karimova]]
| party = [[Communist Party of Uzbekistan|CPU]] (before 1991)<br>[[Self-Sacrifice National Democratic Party|FMDP]] (1991 – 2007)<br>[[Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party|OLDP]] (2007 – )
}}
'''Islom Abdug‘aniyevich Karimov''' (in [[Cyrillic alphabet_variants#Uzbek|Cyrillic]] [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]: Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов ; in [[Russian language|Russian]]: Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов ''Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov'') (born on [[January 30]], [[1938]]) has served as the [[President of Uzbekistan]] since 1991.
Karimov was born in [[Samarkand]], [[Uzbek SSR]], [[Soviet Union]]. He is half-[[Uzbek]], from his father's side, and half-[[Tajik|Tajik]] from his mother's side{{Fact|date=February 2008}}. He grew up in a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] state-[[orphanage]]. Later he studied [[engineering]] and [[economics]] in [[Tashkent]].
==Rise to power==
Karimov became an official in the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], becoming the party's First Secretary in Uzbekistan in 1989. On [[March 24]], [[1990]] he became President of the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic]]. He declared Uzbekistan an independent nation on [[August 31]], [[1991]]. He won Uzbekistan's first presidential election on [[December 29]] with 86% of the vote. The elections were called unfair, with state-run propaganda and a falsified vote count, although the opposing candidate and leader of the [http://www.uzbekistanerk.org Erk] (Freedom) Party, [[Muhammad Salih]], had a chance to participate. Shortly after the elections, a harsh political clampdown forced opposition leaders into exile, while many have been issued long-term prison sentences and a few have disappeared.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
==Presidency==
In 1995, Karimov extended his term until 2000 through a widely criticized [[referendum]], and he was re-elected with 91.9% of the vote on [[January 9]], [[2000]]. The [[United States]] said that this election "was neither free nor fair and offered Uzbekistan's voters no true choice"<ref name=NOTFREE>[http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/election/uzbekistan/bbu260100.htm US slams Uzbek election as unfree, unfair and laughable] EurasiaNet</ref>. The sole opposition candidate, Abdulhafiz Jalalov, implicitly admitted that he entered the race only to make it seem democratic and publicly stated that he voted for Karimov. On [[January 27]], [[2002]], Karimov won another referendum extending the length of presidential terms from five to seven years; Karimov's present term, formerly due to end in 2005, was subsequently extended by parliament, which scheduled the next elections for December 2007.
After the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] Uzbekistan was considered a strategic ally in the United States' "[[War on Terrorism]]" campaign because of a mutual opposition to the [[Taliban]]. Uzbekistan hosted an 800-strong U.S. troop presence at the [[Karshi-Khanabad base]], also known as "K2", which supported U.S.-led efforts in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|2001 invasion of Afghanistan]].<ref name=INVASION>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/khanabad.htm Khanabad, Uzbekistan Karshi-Kanabad (K2) Airbase Camp Stronghold Freedom] Global Security</ref> This move was criticized by Human Rights Watch which said the U.S. government subordinated the promotion of human rights to assistance in the War in Afghanistan. U.S.-Uzbek relations deteriorated in May 2005 when the U.S. government criticized the Uzbek government's reaction to [[Andijan_Massacre|protests in Andijan]]. In July of 2005 U.S. military forces left Karshi-Khanabad.<ref name=ANDIJAN>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4731411.stm US asked to leave Uzbek air base] BBC News</ref>
Karimov has mobilized against the [[Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan]] and [[Hizb-ut-Tahrir]], [[Islamist]] organizations the government has designated as terrorist.<ref name=IMUBOMBINGS>[http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=3610 Bombings and Shootings Rock Uzbekistan] Yale Global Online</ref>. The Uzbek government sentenced [[Tohir Yo‘ldosh]] and [[Juma Namangani]], leaders of the IMU, to death ''[[in absentia]]''.<ref name=NAMANGANI>[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2000/11/17/uzbeki577.htm Latest in a Series of Show Trials Condemns Peaceful Opposition Along with Militants] Human Rights Watch</ref> Namangani died in [[Afghanistan]] in 2001 but Tohir Yo‘ldosh is still alive.<ref name=YULDASHEV>[http://cns.miis.edu/research/wtc01/imu.htm Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)] CNS</ref>
Karimov sought another term in the [[Uzbekistani presidential election, 2007|December 2007 presidential election]], despite arguments that he was ineligible due to the two-term limit on the presidency. On [[November 6]] [[2007]], Karimov accepted the nomination of the [[Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party]] to run for a third term.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=2216|title=Islam Karimov agreed to remain the president another seven years|work=Ferghana.ru|accessdate=2007-11-13}}</ref> On [[November 19]], the Central Election Commission announced the approval of Karimov's candidacy,<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/11/3597F25E-461B-4ED6-A905-D5FF22FA2139.html "Uzbek Election Watchdog Clears Karimov For Third Term"], Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, November 19, 2007.</ref> a decision that Karimov's opponents condemned as illegal.<ref>Shukhrat Babajanov, [http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/11/24d1a90d-dc50-4b5f-a423-dda940129072.html "Uzbekistan: Official Acquiescence In Karimov Presidential Bid Draws Fire"], Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, November 21, 2007.</ref>
Following the election on [[December 23]], preliminary official results showed Karimov winning with 88.1% of the vote, on a turnout rate that was placed at 90.6%. Observers from groups allied to the Karimov administration such as the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organization]] and the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] gave the election a positive assessment.<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/12/66c01656-b3bf-4df6-be9d-8de161c309dd.html "Uzbek Incumbent Wins Presidential Poll Without 'Genuine Choice'"], Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 24 December 2007.</ref> However, observers from the [[Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe]] criticized the election as lacking a "genuine choice," while others deemed the election, a "political charade,"<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3080265.ece Torture, an iron fist and twisted logic set stage for Islam Karimov's landslide victory - Times Online<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> given that all three of Karimov's rivals began their campaign speeches by singing Karimov's praises.<ref>[http://www.iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=341689&apc_state=henh Uzbek Leader’s Re-Election Dismissed as Charade<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Criticism==
The international community has repeatedly criticized the Karimov administration's record on [[human rights]] and [[press freedom]]. In particular, [[Craig Murray]], the British Ambassador from 2002 to 2004, wrote about financial corruption and human rights abuses during his term in office and later in his memoirs ''Murder in Samarkand'' <ref>[[Craig Murray]]. ''Murder in Samarkand''. 2006. [ISBN 978-1845961947]</ref>, pointing to reports of [[boiling to death|boiling people to death]]. The [[United Nations]] found [[torture]] "institutionalized, systematic, and rampant" in Uzbekistan's judicial system.<ref name=TORTURE>[http://193.194.138.190/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/29d0f1eaf87cf3eac1256ce9005a0170?Opendocument Civil and political rights, including the questions of torture and detention] United Nations Economic and Social Council</ref> For several years, [[Parade (magazine)|Parade Magazine]] has selected Karimov for being one of the world's worst [[dictators]], citing to his tactics of [[torture]], [[media censorship]], and [[show election|fake elections]]. <ref>[http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/articles/web_exclusives/2007/02-11-2007/dictators08.html Islam Karimov Uzbekistan: The World's Worst Dictators-2007 | PARADE Magazine<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Personal life==
Karimov's wife, Raisa Karimova Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova, is an economist.<ref name=FAMILY>[http://www.gov.uz/en/section.scm?sectionId=1746 Biography] Government of Uzbekistan</ref> They have two daughters and three grandchildren. His elder daughter, [[Gulnara Karimova]], who has been ducking an [[arrest warrant]] from [[New Jersey]],<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A6874-2004Apr12?language=printer washingtonpost.com: Battle Royal<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> serves as an advisor for Uzbekistan's ambassador to [[Russia]] and is believed to have built an extensive business empire that includes the largest wireless telephone operator in the country, night clubs, and a large cement factory.<ref name=GULNORA>[http://www.uzland.info/2004/january/07/01.htm "The Independent" (UK) interview with Gulnara Karimova] Uzland</ref>
Despite the fact that Karimov is criticized in the West, he had good relations with the then president of France Jacque Chirac. Once Chirac gave a surprise and unofficial visit to Tashkent on Amir Timur's birthday and the two spent their time together like friends.
==See also==
*[[Politics of Uzbekistan]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.press-service.uz/en/section.scm?sectionId=4711 Official biography]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4554997.stm Profile on BBC News]
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{{Succession box
| before = [[Rafiq Nishonov]]
| title = General Secretary of the [[Communist Party of the Uzbek SSR]]
| years = 1989 – 1991
| after = Office abolished
}}
{{Incumbent succession box
| title = [[President of Uzbekistan]]
| before = Office created
| start = 1991
}}
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{{UzbekPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karimov, Islom}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Current national leaders]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Uzbekistani Muslims]]
[[Category:Presidents of Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:Uzbekistani politicians]]
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[[tr:İslam Kerimov]]
[[yi:איסלאם קארימאװ]]
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