Lieutenant General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov () is an Uzbek military leader who has served as the Minister of Defence of Uzbekistan since 2017.

Life and career

Kurbanov was born in late 1969 in the

Jizzakh Region Jizzakh Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan. It is located in the center/east of the country. It borders Tajikistan to the south and south-east, Samarqand Region to the west, Navoiy Region to the north-west, Kazakhstan to the north, and ...

. From 1987 to 1989, he served in the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. After the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

in 1991, he enrolled in the

Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan The Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan (), also known as the Tashkent Police School () is the main educational institution of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan. Its purpose is to prepare highly qualified officer ...

, of which he graduated from in 1994. In December 2013, he was appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan. In 2015, Kurbanov was appointed as Head of the Main Department of Internal Affairs of the City of Tashkent. In the years that followed, he served in various positions in the internal services and military units of the armed forces, such as Commander of the

Tashkent Military District The Tashkent Military District (, ), also known as the Tashkent Operational Command (, ) is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan based in the capital city of Tashkent. It serves the territory of the Tashkent Region ...

Defence minister

On 11 February 2019, Kurbanov was appointed as Minister of Defense, replacing Lieutenant General

Abdusalom Azizov Abdusalom Abdumavlonovich Azizov (Uzbek language, Uzbek: Abdusalom Abdumavlonovich Azizov; born 20 January 1960) is an Uzbek military leader who was the Ministry of Defense (Uzbekistan), Minister of Defence of Uzbekistan from 4 September 2017 to 1 ...

, who was transferred to the National Security Service. One of Kurbanov's first actions as defence minister was to chair a conference of the

Chiefs of Defence Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

of the militaries of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, as well as the Commander of the

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...

Joseph Votel Joseph Leonard Votel (born 14 February 1958) is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who was commander of United States Central Command from March 2016 to March 2019. Before that, he served as commander of the United States Specia ...

. Since 15 August 2020, he has concurrently been the Chairman of the Mixed Martial Arts Association (MMA) of Uzbekistan.Триатлон федерациясига Хавфсизлик кенгаши котиби, ММА ассоциациясига эса мудофаа вазири раис бўлди
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Chairman of National Security Service

On November 23, 2024, he was appointed Chairman of the State Security Service of the Republic of Uzbekistan, replacing

, and was ordered the military rank of Colonel General. Chairman of

Uzbekistan Football Association The Uzbekistan Football Association () is the governing body of football in Uzbekistan, controlling the Uzbekistan national team. History Uzbekistan Football Federation was founded in 1946, while Uzbekistan was still under Soviet rule, and has ...

since February 22, 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurbanov, Bakhodir Uzbekistani politicians Uzbekistani military personnel Defence ministers of Uzbekistan People from Jizzakh Region Living people 1969 births Alumni of Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan

Life and career

Defence minister

Chairman of National Security Service

See also

References