President of Uzbekistan, succeeding Islam Karimov after Karimov's death in 2016. He is less dirigiste than his predecessor. He has cut tariffs on electric vehicles, in part to reduce pollution, while retaining a soft spot for the state's Chevrolet car industry—in 2025 he ordered his ministers to swap their Mercedes-Benz cars for Chevys. He has also courted Chinese carmakers: in 2024 BYD opened a factory in Jizzakh, the region of his birth. BYD gave him a luxury SUV.
Nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner. Conscience makes egotists of us all.