Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova () is an Uzbek

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

who held the position of First Lady of

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

from 1991 until the death of her husband in September 2016. The

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

of former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the ...

, she was a highly influential figure throughout her husband's rule. Karimova, together with

Rustam Inoyatov Rustam Rasulovich Inoyatov (; born 22 June 1944) is a former Uzbek government official, as well as a colonel general. He was head of the National Security Service of Uzbekistan (SNB) from 1995 until his dismissal in January 2018. He was said to ...

, the head of the National Security Service, was expected to play a key role in choosing Karimov's successor.

Early life and family

Born in the harsh years following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

into a military family, Karimova, who is of Russian and Tajik origin, moved with her parents to the

Fergana Region Fergana Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley in the far east of the country. It borders the Namangan and Andijan Regions of Uzbekistan, as well as Kyrgyzstan (Batken and Osh Regions) and ...

in 1952. Her family has been described as influential. She has a younger sister, Tamara Sobirova. Tatyana worked as a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan.

Biography

Islam Karimov was previously married to his first wife, Natalya Petrovna Kuchmi, from 1964 until their divorce during the mid-1960s. In 1967, he married Tatyana Akbarovna. Tatyana Karimova was working as a researcher at the Institute of Economics at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan at the time of her wedding to Karimov. They had two daughters,

Gulnara Karimova Gulnara Islamovna Karimova (Cyrillic Uzbek: ; , ; born 8 July 1972) is a former Uzbek businesswoman and the elder daughter of Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan from 1991 to his death in 2016. She wielded considerable influence in Uzbeki ...

(born 1972) and

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva Lola Islamovna Karimova-Tillyaeva (born 3 July 1978) is an Uzbek diplomat and daughter of Islam Karimov the former President of Uzbekistan and his wife, Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova. In 2012 she and her husband made it into ''Bilan'' magazine's l ...

(born 1978). Additionally, they shared five grandchildren: (Islam Karimova Jr., Iman Karimova, Mariam Tillyaeva, Umar Tillyaev, Safiya Tillyaeva). Tatyana Lola Karimova

In 2013, a feud between Tatyana Karimova and her elder daughter,

, spilled onto

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Gulnara Karimova accused her mother of trying to "destroy" for attempting to prevent the arrest of her cousin, Akbarali Abdullayev. She also accused her younger sister,

, of

sorcery Sorcery commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Goetia, ''Goetia'', magic involving the evocation of spirits ** Witchcraft, the ...

. Gulnara Karimova's Twitter account was suspended shortly after the accusations and she is believed to have been placed under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

in 2014. Karimova served as the first First Lady of Uzbekistan from the country's independence until Islam Karimov's death in 2016. She was known to engage in charity work and official state functions. However, she was a highly influential advisor on many of her husband's policies. Tatyana Karimova was expected to be a key figure in choosing her husband's successor in 2016 without being expected to seek the presidency herself. She was seen as an ally of

, the head of the National Security Service, who was also seen as likely help choose Uzbekistan's next president.

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician who has served as President of Uzbekistan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan since 14 December 2016. Previously, Mirziyoyev led the gover ...

was subsequently elected president in

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

held in December 2016.

Early life and family

Biography

References

See also