Rahmon, Emomali (1952-…), is a Tajik politician and statesman who became president of the republic of Tajikistan in 1994. His name is sometimes spelled Emomali Rakhmon. He was reelected president in 1999, 2006, and 2013. In each case, he took a large majority of the vote, but international observers have said the elections were marred by fraud.
Rahmon came to power during a period of political turmoil in Tajikistan. In 1991, Tajikistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union. In September 1992, anti-Communist and Islamic opposition groups forced the resignation of President Rakhman Nabiyev, a former Soviet Communist Party chief. In November, opposition groups were forced out of power by supporters of the former government, most of whose leaders were former Communist officials. The parliament eliminated the office of president and made Rahmon the chairman of parliament and the head of state. The same year, a civil war broke out between government forces and Islamic and pro-democracy groups. Tens of thousands of people died and hundreds of thousands fled their homes.
In November 1994, a new constitution abolished the office of chairman and reestablished the office of president. The civil war resumed in 1995 along Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan. In early 1997, Rahmon’s government and representatives of United Tajik Opposition, a group of Islamic opposition parties, signed a formal peace agreement to end the war. The agreement provided for a power-sharing government involving Rahmon’s supporters and the opposition groups. Rahmon then worked to rebuild Tajikistan and revive its shattered economy.
Rahmon was born Emomali Rahmonov on Oct. 5, 1952, in Dangara (now called Danghara), in the western part of Tajikistan. He studied economics at Tajik State University in Dushanbe. After leaving the university, he worked as an electrician, salesman, and in a trade union before joining a Communist Party committee. In the early 1970’s, he served in the Soviet armed forces. From 1988 to 1992, he was director of a state-owned farm in the Dangara region. He changed his last name to Rahmon in March 2007, after ordering all Tajiks to change Russian-sounding last names. In 2016, voters overwhelmingly supported a constitutional amendment that allowed Rahmon to run for an unlimited number of terms in office.
See also Tajikistan.
