Major general Shuhrat Khalmuhamedov has been appointed the new minister of defense of Uzbekistan by the decree of president Shavkat Mirziyoyev, press secretary to president Sherzod Asadov said.
Since March 2021, Shuhrat Khalmuhamedov served as the first deputy minister of defense and chief of the general staff of the Armed Forces. He previously held positions as deputy minister of defense, deputy secretary of the Security Council under the president and deputy minister of emergency situations.
By a separate decree, major general Bakhodir Kurbanov, who served as defense minister since February 2019, became the new head of the State Security Service.
Abdusalom Azizov, previous chairman of the State Security Service, has been “transferred to the disposal of the secretariat of the Security Council under the president”, the announcement stated.
Bakhodir Kurbanov (center) and Abdusalom Azizov (right). Photo by president’s press service.
Sherzod Asadov clarified that “transfer to disposal” means placement in the personnel reserve of the Security Council secretariat, the structure that ensures the work of the Security Council. “It does not imply that Abdusalom Azizov was appointed to any position or employed on a permanent basis,” he added.
