Sodiq Safoyev

Sodiq Solihovich Safoyev was born on 3 February 1954 in Tashkent. He graduated from Tashkent State University in 1976 as an economist and taught there until 1987. In 1987–1990 he was a methodologist and sector head at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, and in 1990–1991 a senior researcher at an institute of the Academy of Sciences; he is also reported to have done a traineeship at Harvard University in 1990–1991.

After independence he headed the international economic relations department in the president's office, and in 1992–1993 he was first deputy minister of foreign economic relations. On 2 February 1993 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and held the post until 22 July of that year.

He was Uzbekistan's ambassador to Germany in 1993–1996 (also accredited to the Netherlands and Austria), state adviser to the president in 1996, and ambassador to the United States in 1996–2001 (also accredited to Canada). From 2001 he was first deputy foreign minister and then the president's special representative in Afghanistan.

From 14 March 2003 to February 2005 he was again Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since 2005 he has been a member of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, where he chaired the foreign affairs committee; since 13 December 2016 he has been first deputy chair of the Senate, re-elected on 19 November 2024 at the Senate's first plenary session. Since 2021 he has also been rector of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy.

His awards include the Order of Mehnat Shuhrati (2004), the Order of Fidokorona Xizmatlari Uchun (2019) and Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, first class (2021).