Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (Uzbek: Islom Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov; Russian: Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов; 30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was the leader of Uzbekistan and its predecessor state, the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, from 1989 until his death in He was the last First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan from 1989 to 1991, when the party was reconstituted as the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDP); he led the PDP until He was the President of the Uzbek SSR from 24 March 1990 until he declared the independence of Uzbekistan on 1 September 1991.

He declared Uzbekistan an independent nation on 31 August 1991 and subsequently won its first presidential election on 29 December 1991, with 86% of the vote. Foreign observers and opposition party cited voting irregularities,[2] alleging state-run propaganda and a falsified vote count, although the opposing candidate and leader of the Erk Liberty Party, Muhammad Salih, had a chance to participate. Karimov's first presidential term was extended to 2000 by way of a referendum, and he was re-elected in 2000, 2007 and 2015, each time receiving over 90 percent of the vote.

Karimov was born in Samarkand to Uzbek parents who were civil servants. His family background and history are obscure and the identity of his biological father is unknown, with claims being that he was either Tajik or Jewish.[7] He was sent to an orphanage in 1941, brought back in 1942, and then returned to the orphanage in In 1955, he graduated from high school. In 1960, he graduated from the Central Asian Polytechnic Institute (now Tashkent State Technical University) with a degree in mechanical engineering.[8] He began work as an engineer, eventually joining the Ministry of Water Resources of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1967, he earned a master's degree in economics from Tashkent State University of Economics.[8]

From 1966 to 1986, he worked his way up the ranks in the Uzbek State Planning Committee, from chief specialist, to department head, to Minister of Finance of the Uzbek SSR, chairman of the State Planning Committee and deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR.[8] In 1986, Karimov assumed the post of first secretary of the Kashkadarya Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan Committee of the Communist Party of the Uzbek SSR. In 1989, he became first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Uzbek SSR, after his predecessor Rafiq Nishonov failed to quell inter- ethnic clashes and instability in the Fergana Region.[9] From 1990 to 1991, he served as a member of the Central Committee and Politburo. On 24 March 1990, he was elected the first President of the Republic by the Uzbek Supreme Soviet.[8]

On 31 August 1991, 10 days after the attempted coup in Moscow, Karimov declared Uzbekistan to be an independent republic, the second of the Central Asian republics to do so (after neighboring Kyrgyzstan); 1 September was declared Uzbekistan's Independence Day. The Uzbek Communist Party (UCP) changed its name to the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDP). In the December 1991 presidential election, 86 percent of the public cast their votes for Karimov and 12.3 percent for his rival Muhammad Salih, chairman of the Erk (Freedom) Party.[8][10]

In 1996, Karimov's term was extended until 2000 through a referendum. Results showed 99.6 percent of voters favoured extending Karimov's term.[15] The United States criticised the referendum for its "lack of public debate" and instances of one person casting the vote for his entire family. At the time, Karimov publicly stated that he considered the referendum to be a re- election to a second term, which under the Constitution would have required him to leave office in However, the legislature passed a resolution opposing the decision, leading Karimov to announce he would run for reelection in 2000.[16]

He was reelected with 91.9% of the vote in the Uzbek presidential election, on 9 January The United States said that this election "was neither free nor fair and offered Uzbekistan's voters no true choice".[17] 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. Following this election in 1996, restrictions on opposition were further tightened through the Law on Political Parties. This law ensured the right to meetings, publications and elections of opposition parties, but only to those who had registered with the Ministry of Justice. This policy allowed for government blockage of unapproved parties. Political parties based on ethnic, religious, military or subversive ideas were prohibited.[18] According to dissident writer Alisher Ilkhamov from the Open Society Foundations, 99.6% had elected to keep Karimov in office after his term had expired, but ballots had been created such that it was much easier for voters to cast a "yes" vote than a "no" vote. Unmarked ballots, as well as ballots of those who did not vote, were automatically counted as "yes" votes, while a full black mark, under the supervision of authorities, was necessary to count as a "no" vote.[19]

He died on September 2,2016.