Emomali Rahmon

About

3rd President of Tajikistan and has been in office since 1994. Before that, he was Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of Tajikistan and served as head of state from 1992-1994 when the position of president was temporarily abolished. He is the leader of the People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan. In 1999 he was elected vice president of the UN General Assembly for one year. He heads an authoritarian regime including violation of human rights, corruption, and nepotism. 

Before Fame

He was born into a peasant family in Kulob. He served in the Soviet Union's Pacific Fleet from 1971-74. He then returned to his native village where he worked as an electrician. He got his specialist's degree in economics from the Tajik State National University in 1982. In 1987 he was appointed chairman of the state-owned farm Danghara Sovkhoz. 

Trivia

He is a Sunni Muslim. In 1992 the Tajikistan Civil War was just beginning and he was chosen to lead on the basis of being a compromise candidate between communists and liberal-democratic, Islamist forces.

Family Life

He married his wife Azizmo Asadullayeva in the 1970s. They have two sons and seven daughters. His son Rustam is the chairman of the country's parliament and the mayor of its capital city, Dushanbe and his daughter Ozoda is a senior official in his administration. 

Associated With

Shabnam Surayyo is a pop singer from Dushanbe, Tajikistan.