Gulnara Karimova

Gulnora Islomovna Karimova (Cyrillic: Гулнора Исломовна Каримова; Russian: Гульнара Исламовна Каримова, Gulnara Islamovna Karimova; born 8 July 1972) is the elder daughter of Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan. She is notable as a diplomat, professor, and businessperson. Karimova is the founder and chairperson of the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan Foundation's Board of Trustees and a number of NGOs focused on cultural and social aspects of life in Uzbekistan.

In 2015, an investigation by The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reported that Karimova had taken over $1 billion US in bribes from Scandinavian and Russian telecoms companies wanting in on the Uzbek market. Karimova is also under investigation in Uzbekistan on charges of corruption, although she denies any wrongdoing.

Early life and education

Karimova graduated from the Youth Mathematic Academy in Tashkent in 1988. During 1987 she interned at the State Committee of Uzbekistan on Statistics. From 1989 to 1994 she attended Tashkent State University, where she obtained a bachelor's degree from the International Economics department. During her second year, she worked as a translator at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In 1992 she completed a course of jewelry design in New York Fashion Institute of Technology.