Islam Abduganievich Karimov was born on January 30, 1938 in the city of Samarkand.

 He graduated from the Central Asian Polytechnic Institute and the Tashkent Institute of National Economy.  He was a mechanical engineer and economist.

 He began his career at the Tashkent Agricultural Machinery Plant in 1960.  Later, he worked as an engineer, a leading design engineer at the Tashkent Aviation Production Association named after Chkalov.  In 1966, he joined the State Planning Committee of the Uzbek SSR, where he went from chief specialist to first deputy chairman of the State Planning Committee.

 In 1983, Islam Karimov was appointed Minister of Finance of the Uzbek SSR, in 1986 - Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Uzbek SSR, Chairman of the State Planning Committee.  From 1986 to 1989 he served as First Secretary of the Kashkadarya Regional Party Committee, and from June 1989 as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan.

 On March 24, 1990, at a session of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR, he was elected the President of the Uzbek SSR.  On August 31, 1991, Karimov declared a historic event - the state independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

 Islam Karimov was awarded the title of "Hero of Uzbekistan" for his great contribution to the establishment of a sovereign and independent Uzbekistan, the creation of a people's democratic state governed by the rule of law, ensuring civil peace and national accord.

 Islam Karimov died on September 2, 2016, at the age of 78 in Tashkent, and was buried in Samarkand on September 3.