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Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov dies aged 78

The funeral will be held in Samarkand on September 3

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan has died at the age of 78, the country's cabinet of ministers and parliament said in an official report that was read out on national television.

"With deep grief in our hearts we inform you on the death of our dear President Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov," said the report published at the official website of the Uzbekistani government.

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"Islam Abduganiyevich died on September 2, 2016, in Tashkent after an acute cerebrovascular event (brain haemorrhage) that produced irreversible cerebral changes and a multisystem organ failure," it said

The funeral will be held in Samarkand on September 3, says an official statement by the Cabinet of Ministers and the parliament read out on national television. Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been appointed to chair the commission to organize the funeral of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, says the report.

A three-day mourning for the death of Uzbek President Islam Karimov will be declared in the country from September 3.

The Uzbekistani cabinet of ministers said on August 28 Karimov had been hospitalized for treatment and an all-round medical examination.

Lola Karimova-Tillyayeva said in Instagram the next day her father said suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and had been transferred to an intensive care ward.

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Uzbekistan’s president suffered brain hemorrhage

Islam Karimov was born on January 30, 1938 in Samarkand, a city in eastern Uzbekistan. Karimov had ruled Uzbekistan since 1989, when he became the First Secretary of the republic’s Communist Party. In March 1990, he became the first president of the republic. In 1991, Karimov won the first presidential elections in Uzbekistan and served as president for five years. He retained his top post following nationwide referendums in 1995 and 2002, and after direct elections in 2000, 2007 and 2015.

Karimov is one of the longest-serving presidents in the former Soviet states. He remained in power for 26 years. In addition, the president was awarded the title Hero of Uzbekistan. Karimov is also a doctor of science and an honorary academic at many educational institutions and establishments throughout many foreign countries. He is the author of books on Uzbekistan’s political and economic development. His works, statements and texts of his speeches were published in a ten-volume book.

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