Mahmud Istamov appointed new Deputy Minister of Justice

Following reports of the dismissal of Deputy Minister of Justice Alisher Karimov, it has been officially confirmed that, by the relevant presidential decision, Mahmud Shuhratovich Istamov has been appointed as the new Deputy Minister of Justice. The ministry’s press service announced the appointment.

Mahmud Istamov was born in 1979 in Bukhara, Bukhara region. He holds a law degree and the title of 1st-level justice advisor. He graduated from the Tashkent State Law Institute in 2000.

He began his career in the same year as a senior advisor in the Department of State Registration of Regulatory Documents at the Ministry of Justice. Over time, he served as chief advisor, head of department, and deputy head within the same division.

• From 2004 to 2005, Istamov headed the Center for Legal Information under the Ministry of Justice. From 2005 to 2006, he led a department within the Center for Monitoring the Implementation of Regulatory and Legal Acts, also under the Ministry of Justice.
• Between 2006 and 2011, he served as an Inspector for the Activities of Justice and Judicial Bodies in the Office of the State Advisor for Coordination of Law Enforcement and Supervisory Bodies under the Office of the President of Uzbekistan.
• From 2011 to 2014, he held the role of Leading Inspector in the same Office, specifically in the Department for Justice and Judicial Affairs.
• Between 2014 and 2017, Istamov led the Department for Cooperation with Political Parties in the Office of the President’s Service for Cooperation with the Oliy Majlis, Political, and Public Organizations. In 2017, he became Head of the Department of Legislation in the Judicial and Legal Sector of the Service for Political and Legal Issues under the Presidential Office.

He previously served as Deputy and First Deputy Minister of Justice between 2017 and 2019. From 2019 to 2021, he was Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission, and from 2021 to 2024, he served as Prosecutor of the Bukhara Region.

Since early 2024, until his recent appointment, Mahmud Istamov was Head of the Office of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.