Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

Sherali Mirzo () is a Tajik

who serves as the

minister of defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

since 20 November 2013, succeeding

Sherali Khayrulloyev Sherali Khayrulloyevich Khayrulloyev (russian: Шерали Хайруллоевич Хайруллоев; tg, Шералӣ Хайруллоевич Хайруллоев) is a retired Tajikistani general and politician. He was the Minister of D ...

Biography

Early life and military career

Mirzo was born in 1967 in the Moskovskiy District (present-day Hamadoni) in the

Khatlon Region Khatlon Region ( tg, Вилояти Хатлон, ''Viloyati Xatlon''), one of the four provinces of Tajikistan ( tg, вилоят, ''Viloyat''), is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwest ...

in the

Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic,, ''Çumhuriji Şūraviji Sotsialistiji Toçikiston''; russian: Таджикская Советская Социалистическая Республика, ''Tadzhikskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Resp ...

. He graduated from the

Perm Higher Military Command Academy Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administrat ...

and joined the armed forces after independence in 1994. During the

Tajik civil war The Tajikistani Civil War ( tg, Ҷанги шаҳрвандии Тоҷикистон, translit=Jangi shahrvandiyi Tojikiston / Çangi shahrvandiji Toçikiston; russian: Гражданская война в Таджикистане), also known ...

, he commanded the military forces of the

Vose' District ) , image_map = Location of Vose' District in Tajikistan.png , mapsize = , map_caption = Location of the district in Tajikistan , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Region , subdivis ...

. In 1994-1995 he was a senior officer of the military training department of the Ministry of Defense and from 1997-2002, he was the commander of the 7th Separate Motor Rifle Battalion. He was appointed to this position on 13 August of that year to replace Colonel

Mahmud Khudoiberdiyev Colonel Mahmud Khudoiberdiyev ( Tajik:Маҳмуд Худойбердиев; October 18, 1964 in Qurghonteppa – c. 2001) was a rebel leader in Tajikistan who, while initially an ally of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, became an opposition figure ...

, holding the rank of a

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

at the time. He spent four years studying at the

Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (russian: Военная академия Генерального штаба Вооруженных Сил Российской Федерации) is the s ...

Appointment to high positions

From 2005–2006, he served as Tajikistan’s Deputy Minister of Defence before being moving to the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) which succeeded the KGB of the Tajik SSR. It was the SCNS where he served as the commander of the

Tajik Border Troops The Border Troops (), also called the Border Service, is the border security force of Tajikistan. Functioning under the State Committee for National Security as part of the Armed Forces, the border guards are trained by the Organization for Se ...

, as well as First Deputy SCNS Chairman. On 3 October 2013 by order of a presidential decree he was appointed Minister of Defense by President

Emomali Rahmon Emomali Rahmon (; born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmonov, tg, Эмомалӣ Шарӣпович Раҳмонов, script=Latn, italic=no, Emomalī Sharīpovich Rahmonov; ; born 5 October 1952) has been the 3rd President of Tajikistan since 16 Novem ...

. He succeeded

who resigned as Minister of Defence due to "health reasons".

Actions as Minister of Defence

In November 2018, it was revealed that Mirzo had built a health centre at his own expense in the Baljuvon District. Under his leadership, the first military exercises with Uzbekistan took place at the Chorukhdairon Military Training Ground in the

Sughd Region Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...

. The Armed Forces Command Center was also launched under his tenure. In 2021, he visited

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, agreeing with General Mohammad Baqeri to establish a joint defensive and military committee between the National Army and the

Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces The Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, are the combined military forces of Iran, comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Arteš''), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (''Sepâh'') and the Law Enforcement Force (Police). Iran ...

. In 2014, he accompanied President Rahmon in Sochi as part of a delegation to take part in the

2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics took place at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia, on 7 February 2014. It began at 20:14 MSK (UTC+4) and finished at 23:02 MSK (UTC+4). It was filmed and produced by OBS and Russian host ...

. In 2016, a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

Dousti Square Dousti Square (; ) is a square in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. It is connected to Rudaki Avenue and Hofizi Sherozi Avenue. It is the largest in Dushanbe. History The formation of the square began in the 1930s. Its first building was a 2-storeyed bu ...

that honored the 25th anniversary of independence was held, with Lieutenant General Mirzo inspecting the parade along

Rudaki Avenue Rudaki Avenue ( tg, хиёбони Рӯдакӣ, russian: проспект Рудаки) is the main thoroughfare street in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. The street is named after Rudaki, the Tajik national poet. The street was known as Len ...

and congratulating participants on the anniversary.

Awards

* Order of Zarintoj, 2nd class (2013) *

Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «70 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 28, 198 ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirzo, Sherali 1967 births Living people People from Khatlon Region Ministers of Defence of Tajikistan Tajikistani generals Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni