Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov, president of Uzbekistan, former member of the politburo of the Soviet Communist Party (CPSU) Central Committee.

　　Born in the city of Samarkand in 1938, an Uzbek. Member of the CPSU since 1964. A mechanical engineer, an economist, and candidate of science (economics).

　　He graduated from the Central Asian Polytechnical Institute and the Tashkent Institute of the National Economy. He began his work activities in 1960 as assistant foreman at the Tashselmash Farm Machinery Plant. He worked as designer and then the leading engineer at Tashkent's Chkalov Aircraft Production Amalgamation. From 1966, he started working in the state planning committee of the Uzbek SSR as chief specialist, a departmental chief, and then deputy chairman of the committee. From 1983, he served as Minister of Finance and then Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR.

　　In 1986, he became first secretary of the Kashkadarya regional committee of the Party and in 1989 he was elected the first secretary of the Uzbekistan communist party central committee. He was a USSR People's Deputy and the holder of state awards.

　　He was elected as President of the Uzbek SSR in 1990. At the 28th congress of the CPSU, he was elected a member of the CPSU Central Committee. At the 1990 July plenary meeting, he was elected member of the political bureau of CPSU Central Committee. After Uzbekistan's independence, he was elected as Uzbek president in December 1991, and re-elected president on January 9, 2000.

　　He made official visits to China twice, i.e. March 12-14, 1992 and October 24-26, 1994.