Uzbekistan's President Mirziyoyev Appoints Daughter as Advisor, Elevating Key Role
Shafaq News/ President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan has appointed his daughter, Saida Mirziyoyeva, as his advisor. This significant appointment to a newly established pivotal position within the Central Asian nation underscores the persistence of a confined political circle despite recent reforms.
The presidential administration's information office announced on Friday, "Saida Mirziyoyeva has been appointed as an advisor to the President of Uzbekistan, according to a presidential decree."
This development follows reconfigurations within the presidential administration after Mirziyoyev's re-election in July. The election, which saw him secure 87 percent of the votes, was met with criticism from international observers.
Born in 1984, Saida Mirziyoeva is proficient in English and Russian and has also held the position of Information Officer within her father's presidency since 2016.
Drawing parallels to past instances, the appointment of Mirziyoeva as a presidential advisor evokes memories of Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the late former President Islam Karimov. The elder Karimov had governed Uzbekistan since its inception as an independent state following the collapse of the Soviet Union until 2016.
Karimova had held various official roles and responsibilities and had been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate. However, her trajectory encountered a setback in March 2020 when she was handed a sentence of roughly 13 years in prison on charges of extortion and embezzlement. Her name had also been linked to corruption cases on an international scale.
Mirziyoyev is lauded for his reform and modernization initiatives in Uzbekistan, the most populous nation in Central Asia. Enabled by a constitutional amendment approved in the preceding spring, he holds the potential to govern until 2037.
The appointment of Mirziyoyeva as an advisor within her father's administration has brought to the fore ongoing debates concerning nepotism and the scope of reforms in Uzbekistan. International attention remains drawn to the nation as it navigates a complex path between modernization and entrenched political dynamics.
