Uzbekistan's parliament has appointed Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev as interim president after the death of Islam Karimov last week, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Thursday.

Mirziyoyev had been tipped as a favourite to succeed the late Karimov, who governed Uzbekistan with an iron fist since first entering power while the country was still part of the Soviet Union. Karimov was re-elected multiple times, though none of the elections he participated in fulfilled international fairness criteria.

According to the Uzbek constitution, in the case of a premature vacating of the position of president, the speaker of parliament's upper house becomes interim president for three months, after which a leader is expected to take charge.

This will now not happen, as the Uzbek prime minister, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, will become acting president, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti confirmed.

Mirziyoyev has served as prime minister since 2003. He is 59-years-old, having previously served as a governor of two Uzbek regions, including the historic Samarkand region, where Karimov is buried.

Karimov's death was widely reported almost a week before the government announced he had died after a stroke. The delay in announcing the leader's demise may have been a deliberate ploy to allow officials time to discuss his succession.

Parliamentary head Nigmatulla Yuldashev reportedly volunteered to step aside, in order for Mirziyoyev to lead the country. A date for official elections has not been announced.

Mirziyoyev has been the most visible Uzbek politician in the wake of Karimov's death, leading the funeral procession, responding to world leaders' messages of condolences and receiving the likes of Putin on a condolence visit to Uzbekistan.</s>Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been named as acting president of Uzbekistan following the death of its long-serving leader, Islam Karimov.

Mirziyoyev, who has served as prime minister since 2003, was confirmed as acting president at a joint session of the Uzbek parliament Thursday.

Karimov, the country’s authoritarian ruler of 27 years, died of a brain hemorrhage last week at the age of 78. He was buried in his home town of Samarkand on Saturday, but left no obvious successor.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Samarkand Monday, laying flowers at Karimov’s grave and personally giving his condolences to the former president’s widow and daughter.

Mirziyoyev accompanied Putin during his visit, suggesting to many that he was likely to succeed Karimov.

Presidential elections to determine Karimov’s successor should be held within three months, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing a representative of Uzbekistan’s parliament.</s>Uzbekistan’s parliament named prime minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev as interim president on Thursday in succession to the late president Islam Karimov, saying stability and law and order had to be maintained in the populous Central Asian state.

Mr Mirziyoyev (59) secured the top job when the man who should have become transitional leader under the constitution bowed out in his favour, saying he had long experience in office and enjoyed the respect of people.

The authoritarian Karimov died of a stroke last week aged 78 after ruling the resource-rich country for 27 years.

Under the Uzbek constitution, a presidential election must now be held within three months, and Mr Mirziyoyev, who was the official mourner-in-chief at Karimov’s funeral and met Russian president Vladimir Putin this week, is widely expected to be elected.

Russia, the United States and China vie for influence in Uzbekistan, a country of 32 million bordering Afghanistan.

Central Asia pundits say they do not expect any drastic policy changes under Mr Mirziyoyev, a former regional governor valued by Karimov as a competent manager.

With his appointment as acting head of state, Mr Mirziyoyev leapfrogged the little-known Senate chairman Nigmatilla Yuldashev, who under the constitution should have led the country during the transition period.

Mr Yuldashev turned down the role and instead asked to for Mr Mirziyoyev to be installed as acting president, taking into account “his long experience of work in executive positions and respect among the people”, the parliament said in a statement.

Parliament supported Mr Yuldashev’s motion, stressing the “need to preserve stability, public security, law and order and effectively resolve political and economic issues”.

Karimov cast his country as a bulwark against militant Islam but drew western criticism for suppressing political dissent. Human rights groups say there are hundreds of political and religious prisoners in local jails and say torture is practised.

In contrast to the West, Mr Putin said during his visit to Tashkent this week he hoped the new Uzbek leader would continue Karimov’s work, putting a stamp on Moscow’s claim to be the former Soviet republic’s closest ally.</s>ALMATY, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan's parliament appointed Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev as interim president on Thursday, a source who saw the written decision of the legislature told Reuters.

President Islam Karimov, who had ruled Central Asia's most populous nation for 27 years, died of a stroke last week aged 78.

Mirziyoyev, who was the official mourner-in-chief at Karimov's funeral and met Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, is widely expected to become the president of Uzbekistan, an energy-rich country where Russia, the United States and China are vying for influence.

Under the Uzbek constitution, a presidential election must now be held within three months.

Central Asia pundits say they do not expect any drastic policy changes if Mirziyoyev, a former regional governor, is duly elected president of the mainly Muslim nation of 32 million people that borders Afghanistan.

By appointing Mirziyoyev, 59, as acting head of state, the legislature leapfrogged Senate Chairman Nigmatilla Yuldashev, who under the constitution should have led the country during the transition period as acting president after Karimov's death.

But Yuldashev, a little-known figure, had declined the role saying he lacked experience, the same source said. The appointment of Mirziyoyev, valued by Karimov as a competent manager, is expected to be officially announced in an evening TV news programme - a usual practice in the secretive nation.

Karimov cast his country as a bulwark against militant Islam but drew Western criticism for suppressing political dissent. Human rights groups say there are hundreds of political and religious prisoners in local jails and say torture is practised.

In contrast to the West, Putin said during his visit to Tashkent this week he hoped the new Uzbek leader would continue Karimov's work, putting a stamp on Moscow's claim to be the former Soviet republic's closest ally. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Gareth Jones)</s>After days of speculation about his health, Islam Karimov, the first and only president of independent Uzbekistan, was pronounced dead on Sept. 2. Karimov’s death has cast the country into uncertainty; analysts have predicted a surge of Islamic fundamentalism, ethnic and regional disputes, confrontation between political clans, and even civil war. The president’s passing has, perhaps most importantly, touched off a succession crisis: because Karimov did not designate an heir, a political battle to assume the throne is under way in Tashkent. Three men stand out as potential successors: Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev, First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Rustam Azimov, and National Security Service (SNB) chief Rustam Inoyatov. While Mirziyoyev and Azimov are public figures who seem to be ready to run for president (an election is supposed to be held within three months), Inoyatov may act more as a grey cardinal, manipulating Mirziyoyev—his close associate—rather than seeking elected office.

Perhaps the most likely candidate to move into the presidential palace is the fifty-nine-year-old Mirziyoyev, a candidate known for his hot temper. It is said that he routinely insults and hits his subordinates. According to reports from human rights activists, when he was governor of the Dzhizak region, Mirziyoyev beat a local college teacher to death for refusing to bring his students to work in the cotton fields in the pouring rain. Mirziyoyev is said to be close to the entire Karimov family, as well as to Rustam Inoyatov. There are a great number of theories purporting to explain the alliance between the prime minister and the SNB head, including that Inoyatov planted Mirziyoyev in Karimov’s inner circle so that he would be able to influence the president.

Inoyatov has been at the helm of Uzbekistan’s security service for more than twenty years and controls all of Uzbekistan’s major military and security structures; Inoyatov has his own army that includes Uzbekistan’s most combat-ready detachments. What’s more, some reports suggest that Inoyatov’s people in the presidential administration kept a close eye on Karimov’s communications with the heads of regions and ministries. The third potential candidate to replace Karimov is Rustam Azimov, who became finance minister in 1998 and whose knowledge of free market principles helped him become a fixture on Karimov’s team. To many in Uzbekistan and the émigré community, Azimov’s name is associated with liberalism: he has a master’s degree from Oxford, which probably makes him the most well-educated man in the government. That being said, he isn’t altogether different from other Uzbek leaders who ascended to power under Karimov; he just never directly persecuted political dissenters, like Inoyatov, or drove people to the cotton fields en masse, like Mirziyoyev.

What matters most is these three men’s ability to agree on who will be the next president of Uzbekistan; a protracted power struggle could prove disastrous. One of them—perhaps, Azimov—may be eliminated. It’s also possible that, as in Turkmenistan, the president will be replaced by a second- or even third-tier government official. In any case, the caution with which officials in Tashkent handled information about the president’s grave medical condition and death suggest that the struggle for power may be only just beginning. Petr Bologov is an international columnist at Slon.ru.</s>ALMATY, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan will elect a new president on Dec. 4 following the death of veteran leader Islam Karimov last week, the elections authority said on Friday, as Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev looked set to take over.

Karimov died of a stroke on Sept.2 aged 78 after ruling the resource-rich Central Asian country of 32 million people for 27 years in an authoritarian manner, brooking no dissent.

Political parties will be able to nominate candidates between Sept. 30 and Oct. 20, Central Election Commission Chairman Mirza-Ulugbek Abdusalomov told reporters.

On Thursday, Uzbekistan's parliament named Mirziyoyev, 59, as interim president when the man who should have become transitional leader under the constitution bowed out in his favour, saying he had long experience in office and enjoyed the respect of people.

Mirziyoyev was also the official mourner-in-chief at Karimov's funeral and met Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, strong signs that he is likely to succeed Karimov.

Uzbekistan has never held a vote judged free and fair by Western observers. Karimov was routinely reelected with more than 90 percent of the vote.

In a speech delivered in parliament on Thursday and published on Friday, Mirziyoyev pledged to continue Karimov's policies, focusing on stability and security and sticking to the "Uzbek model" in economic matters.

Uzbekistan has been deliberately slow to introduce market reforms under Karimov and the economy remains dominated by the state.

Mirziyoyev also said Tashkent would continue the policy of avoiding military blocs and refusing to host military bases of foreign nations. (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Additional reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov; Editing by Dominic Evans)</s>TASHKENT (TCA) — Uzbek news agencies report that Uzbekistan's parliament has appointed Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev as the country’s interim president after the death of longtime President Islam Karimov.

Both houses of the Uzbek parliament made the decision at a joint session on September 8.



According to Uzbekistan’s Constitution, the head of the upper house of parliament, the Senate, would assume presidential authority for a period of three months if the president dies or is unable to perform duties. But the Senate Chairman, Nigmatulla Yuldashev, had refused to accept interim presidency. 



The presidential election would be held during the nearest three months. 



Shavkat Mirziyaev, 59, graduated from the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Mechanization of Agriculture. He served as head of administration of the Mirzo-Ulugbek district of Tashkent. 



Mirziyaev has been Uzbekistan’s prime minister since 2003, making him the longest serving prime minister in Uzbekistan's 25-year history as an independent country. Prior to that post, he was the governor of the Samarkand Province (2001-2003) and the Jizzakh Province (1996-2001).



Islam Karimov, who had ruled Uzbekistan with an iron fist since 1989, died from a stroke at the age of 78. He was buried in his home city of Samarkand on September 3, a day after the Uzbek government officially announced his death.</s>ALMATY, Kazakhstan: Ex-Soviet Uzbekistan’s new interim president Shavkat Mirziyoyev has ruled out military alliances, the government said Friday, following the same course as the late veteran strongman Islam Karimov.

Mirziyoyev — who served as the Central Asian country’s prime minister for nearly 13 years — is the frontrunner to replace Karimov in a presidential vote expected to take place within three months.

“The firm position of our country, as before, is non-membership in all military-political alliances and not allowing other states’ military bases and facilities on the territory of Uzbekistan,” Mirziyoyev told lawmakers, according to a foreign ministry statement.

“No one should doubt that any attempt by internal and external forces to encroach on the sovereignty and independence of our country will be severely suppressed.”</s>Presidential elections in Uzbekistan will take place on Dec. 4, the country's government has confirmed.

Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev was named as acting president on Thursday, following the death of the country's long-serving leader Islam Karimov.

Uzbekistan last held presidential elections in March 2015. Karimov faced three other candidates, all of whom were from pro-government parties.

Election monitors for the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) reported that the elections did not show “genuine competition” and that the “rigidly constrained media did not provide political debate.”

Karimov, the country’s authoritarian ruler of 27 years, died of a brain hemorrhage last week at the age of 78. He was buried in his home town of Samarkand on Saturday, but left no obvious successor.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Samarkand Monday, laying flowers at Karimov’s grave and personally giving his condolences to the former president’s widow and daughter.

Mirziyoyev accompanied Putin during his visit, suggesting to many that he was likely to succeed Karimov.</s>Nearly a week after Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's longtime autocratic president, was officially declared dead after suffering a stroke, the country's parliament appointed Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev as acting president on Thursday, setting the stage for the experienced bureaucrat to assume the role permanently in the latest sign of consensus among the country's elites over succession.

Mirziyoyev, who has been Uzbekistan's prime minister since 2003, was widely considered the favorite to succeed Karimov, who was the former Soviet country's first and only president, and his appointment as the caretaker president is the clearest sign yet that Mirziyoyev is looking to make it permanent. During Karimov's lavish funeral, state TV showed footage of Mirziyoyev assuming official duties, including organizing the massive event and interacting with foreign dignitaries in attendance; that included his meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

Under the constitution, Senate leader Nigmatilla Yuldashev should have taken over the interim position ahead of elections within three months, but reportedly declined. According to a statement released on the Uzbek government's official website, Yuldashev broke with procedure during the parliamentary session and in an indication of Mirziyoyev's growing behind-the-scenes power, asked lawmakers to appoint the prime minister instead of himself due to the prime minister's "many years of [government] experience."

As interim president and Karimov's probable successor, Mirziyoyev will have to tackle a host of issues facing Uzbekistan, including economic stagnation, mass migration, and the shadow of Islamist extremism. But Mirziyoyev's most challenging task could be navigating Uzbekistan's complex, and often turbulent, relations with major powers like Russia, the United States, and China, as well as its four Central Asian neighbors - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan - as Moscow, Beijing, and Washington jostle for influence across the region.

"Moscow is much more interested in Central Asia than anyone else," Bakhti Nishanov, deputy director for Eurasia at the International Republican Institute, told Foreign Policy. "The Chinese see it as economically important, the Americans want regional stability, but for the Russians, it is almost part of their identity."

Mirziyoyev has already received a warm welcome from Putin. During his visit, Putin pledged his support for Uzbekistan and portrayed Russia as Karimov's closest ally, telling the interim leader that he could count on Moscow as one of his "most reliable friends." The Kremlin and Karimov had a complicated, and at times fraught, relationship during the 25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, Tashkent was wary of its former patron in Moscow and sought to cement its own independence, even later becoming an unsavory ally of the United States in the global war on terrorism.

"Karimov was a very effective ruler that was able to carve out independence for his country," Paul Stronski, a Central Asia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, told FP. "Whether the next person is able to have that same sort of vision for a space that isn't in Russia or the West's pocket is the big question."

Uzbekistan's ties with Washington have also had their ups-and-downs. Closer relations were cemented with U.S. access to an air base used to move materiel and personnel to the ongoing war effort in Afghanistan. That relationship was derailed following Washington's criticism of the Andijan massacre, in which Uzbek security forces shot and killed unarmed protesters in 2005. Following the incident, Tashkent evicted the United States from the air base in Uzbekistan and Putin quickly moved to rekindle ties with Karimov and has been courting Tashkent ever since.

Yet China remains the largest economic player Central Asia and has heavily invested in infrastructure across the region to promote its "One Belt, One Road" project, a 21st-century version of the Silk Road that's intended to connect China to Europe through the Central Asian countries. But while Beijing is an important economic force, it has so far largely refrained from playing a larger political or security role in the region. The United States, meanwhile, has significantly scaled back its footprint in Central Asia following the drawdown of operations in Afghanistan and the closure of U.S. air bases in Uzbekistan and neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

Moscow, in contrast, has pushed to solidify its influence in Central Asia through regional organizations like the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led military bloc, of which Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are members, and the Eurasian Economic Union, which Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have joined. Uzbekistan has so far resisted membership in these organizations, despite Putin's entreaties, and whether Mirziyoyev opts for closer ties with Russia will have a major effect on Uzbekistan's future.

"The Russians are playing a long game in Central Asia," said Nishanov. "Mirziyoyev is certainly the preferred candidate for the Kremlin as he is a product of the current system."

Relations with Uzbekistan's Central Asian neighbors will also loom large over Mirziyoyev in the coming months. Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan, and Almazbek Atambayev, the president of Kyrgyzstan, both skipped Karimov's state funeral in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand. Nazarbayev and Karimov have been competing for regional leadership. Kazakhstan, in large part thanks to its oil wealth, emerged as the richest country in Central Asia, fueling the rivalry between the two autocratic heads of state. Uzbekistan's relations with Kyrgyzstan have been even more delicate, with Karimov halting the supply of natural gas several times to his smaller neighbor to cow Kyrgyz leadership into changing policies that he did not like. In 1999, for example, the Uzbek leader demanded that former Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev stop democratic reforms he was carrying out or face having the country's energy supplies cut off.

According to Stronski, how Uzbekistan's next president decides to deal with other countries in Central Asia could be an important way for the new leader to leave his mark on the country and cement his hold on power.

"How will the next leader seek to solidify his legitimacy?" said Stronski. "He might want to pick a fight with one of the neighbors or have a standoff to make a point."
Uzbekistan’s parliament appoints Shavkat Mirziyoyev as interim president after the death of President Islam Karimov.