Ziroat Mirziyoyeva

Ziroat Mahmudovna Mirziyoyeva ( Hoshimova; born 4 December 1964) is an Uzbek politician who has served as the First Lady of Uzbekistan since 2016 as the wife of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Biography Early years and education Ziroat Mirziyoyeva was born Ziroat Hoshimova in the Uzbek city of Kokand into an influential and religious family. Her father was head of the Central Asian railway's supply department, which managed the 'Dorrestoran' catering and dining cars.

Mirziyoyeva enrolled at TIIAME, where she met Shavkat Mirziyoyev, an employee of the university and its Komsomol secretary. Her family initially opposed their relationship, but eventually approved the marriage.

During presidency of Islam Karimov, Mirziyoyeva, as well as all her family members, lived a private life and did not participate in official events for fear of possible persecution by the president. The first mention of Ziroat Mirziyoyeva appeared in Shavkat Mirziyoyev's official biography only in November 2016, when he became a presidential candidate after Karimov's death.

Family

Ziroat Mirziyoyeva has three children and six grandchildren. Her daughter Saida Mirziyoyeva (born 1984) has been Assistant to the President since August 2023 and thus holds the second most important post in Uzbekistan; her second daughter Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva is First Deputy Director of the National Social Security Agency. Her son Miralisher was born in 2009.

Mirziyoyeva's sons-in-law Oybek Tursunov and Otabek Umarov are major businessmen who became rich after being related to the Mirziyoyev family. Saiyora's daughter Diora (Diyora) was married to the nephew of billionaire Alisher Usmanov, Babur Usmanov. A few years after his death in a road accident in 2013, Diora married , one of the richest men in Uzbekistan.