Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

Sherali Mirzo () is a Tajik

who serves as the

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

since 20 November 2013, succeeding Sherali Khayrulloyev.

Biography

Early life and military career

Mirzo was born in 1967 in the Moskovskiy District (present-day Hamadoni) in the

Khatlon Region Khatlon Region (), one of the four provinces of Tajikistan, is the most populous of the four first-level administrative regions in the country. It is situated in the southwest of the country, between the Hisor Range, Hisor (Gissar) Range in the n ...

in the

Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Rep ...

. He graduated from the Perm Higher Military Command Academy and joined the armed forces after independence in 1994. During the Tajik civil war, he commanded the military forces of the Vose' District. In 1994-1995 he was a senior officer of the military training department of the Ministry of Defense and from 1997-2002, he was the commander of the 7th Separate Motor Rifle Battalion. He was appointed to this position on 13 August of that year to replace Colonel Mahmud Khudoiberdiyev, holding the rank of a Lieutenant colonel at the time. He spent four years studying at the

Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation () is the senior staff college of the Russian Armed Forces. The academy is located in Moscow, on 14 Kholzunova Lane. It was founded in 1936 as a Soviet inst ...

Appointment to high positions

From 2005–2006, he served as Tajikistan’s Deputy Minister of Defence before being moving to the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) which succeeded the KGB of the Tajik SSR. It was the SCNS where he served as the commander of the Tajik Border Troops, as well as First Deputy SCNS Chairman. On 3 October 2013 by order of a presidential decree he was appointed Minister of Defense by President

Emomali Rahmon Emomali Rahmon ( ; born 5 October 1952), born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmanov, is a Tajik politician who has served as the President of Tajikistan since 1994, having previously led the country as Chairman of the Supreme Assembly (Tajikistan), Su ...

. He succeeded Sherali Khayrulloyev who resigned as Minister of Defence due to "health reasons". On 23 January 2025, President Rahmon appointed Emomali Sobirzoda as the new minister of defense and appointed Mirzo head of the State Secret Protection Department under the Government of Tajikistan.

Actions as Minister of Defence

In November 2018, it was revealed that Mirzo had built a health centre at his own expense in the Baljuvon District. Under his leadership, the first military exercises with Uzbekistan took place at the Chorukhdairon Military Training Ground in the

Sughd Region Sughd Province, also referred to as the Sogdia Region, and Leninabad before 2001, is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces that make up Tajikistan. Centered in the historical Sogdiana, it is located in the north ...

. The Armed Forces Command Center was also launched under his tenure. In 2021, he visited

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, agreeing with General Mohammad Bagheri to establish a joint defensive and military committee between the National Army and the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces. In 2014, he accompanied President Rahmon in Sochi as part of a delegation to take part in the

2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics took place at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia, on 7 February 2014. It began at 20:14 MSK (UTC+4) and finished at 23:02 MSK (UTC+4). It was filmed and produced by OBS and Russian ho ...

. In 2016, a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

on Dousti Square that honored the 25th anniversary of independence was held, with Lieutenant General Mirzo inspecting the parade along Rudaki Avenue and congratulating participants on the anniversary.

Awards

* Order of Zarintoj, 2nd class (2013) * Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirzo, Sherali 1967 births Living people People from Khatlon Region Ministers of defence of Tajikistan Tajikistani generals Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni