Abduqahhor Ibrohimov

Abduqahhor Abdusamatovich Ibrohimov was born on 16 August 1939 in the Koʻkcha quarter of Tashkent. From 1957 to 1962 he studied in the journalism department of the philology faculty at Tashkent State University.

He began his working life in the press: in 1962–1972 he was a staff writer and then department head at the newspaper “Oʻzbekiston madaniyati”, and in 1972–1975 executive secretary of the magazine “Guliston”. In 1975–1977 he attended the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow, and in 1978–1984 he headed a department at the newspaper “Oʻzbekiston adabiyoti va sanʼati”.

In 1984–1986 he was chief editor of the repertoire and editorial board at the Ministry of Culture. In 1990–1993 he served in the Office of the President as a consultant and then lead consultant, and from 1994 he was a chief specialist at the Republican “Spirituality and Enlightenment” Centre.

His literary work began in the 1960s. He published the story collections “Qoya ostida” (1972), “Soʻnggi nur” (1977) and “Osmon yaqin, yer yumshoq” (1982) and the novel “Uyqu kelmas kechalar” (1998). His essays — “Til – taqdir demak” (1990), “Vatan tuygʻusi” (1996, co-written) and “Bizkim, oʻzbeklar” (1999) — deal with the language question and the history of early Uzbek statehood.

He is best known as a playwright. His lyric drama “Birinchi boʻsa” was staged in 1971 at the Yosh Gvardiya theatre (now the Abror Hidoyatov theatre). Comedies such as “Arra”, “Mayli, mayli”, “Zoʻldir”, “Meni aytdi demang”, “Sochqi” and “Shayton yoʻli” were performed in Tashkent and regional theatres and on stages in other countries.

In 1990 he received the title of Honoured Art Worker of the Uzbek SSR, and in 1999 the Order “Mehnat shuhrati”. Abduqahhor Ibrohimov died on 20 June 2020, aged 80; the Writers’ Union of Uzbekistan announced his death.