Rustam Akhmedov. Photo: gov.uz
Uzbekistan’s first Minister of Defense, retired Colonel General Rustam Akhmedov, has passed away, the country’s Ministry of Defense announced. At the time of publication, a funeral ceremony for the former military commander was being held in Tashkent.
Rustam Akhmedov was born on November 10, 1943, in the Baghdad district of the Fergana region. He graduated from the Tashkent Higher Tank Command School in 1965 and from the Military Academy of Armored Forces in 1985. From 1986 to 1991, he served as deputy commander and chief of staff of civil defense for the Tashkent region.
Akhmedov made history as the first Minister of Defense of independent Uzbekistan, serving from 1992 to 1997. Before that, in 1991–1992, he simultaneously held the positions of Minister of Defense and Commander of the National Guard of the republic.
After leaving the defense ministry, Akhmedov headed the Ministry of Emergency Situations from September 1997 to September 1998 before retiring. From 2018 to 2020, he worked as an adviser to the Minister of Defense.
