Karimova Gulnara is one of the most famous and influential women of modern Uzbekistan. Her brilliant career and personal life have repeatedly become the subject of criticism and discussion in the media, including foreign ones.
Childhood and study
Gulnara Karimova, whose autobiography has not yet been written, was born in 1972 in Ferghana and is the eldest daughter of the president of Uzbekistan. Her mother, Tatyana, who is a specialist in the field of economics, in every possible way encouraged her desire to study in the girl, especially since her mathematical abilities showed up early. In addition, Gulnara studied music and wrote poetry.
In 1988, the girl brilliantly graduated from the famous mathematical academy in Tashkent, and then received a bachelor's degree in international economics. In parallel with her studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and Economics of TSU, Gulnara studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and worked in the office of the Main Department of Statistics of Uzbekistan.
In 1996, Karimova defended her master's thesis at the Institute of Economics at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and 4 years later she was awarded a master's degree in art from Harvard University. In 2001, a woman became a doctor of political sciences, and in 2009 received the title of professor at Tashkent University of World Economy and Diplomacy.
Style icon
During her studies at the University of Gulnara Karimova, whose height is 182 cm, she won the title of "Miss Uzbekistan". After that, she became a style icon for the girls of her country, who began to imitate her in the style of dressing, in hair and makeup. According to Gulnara herself, she always wanted to realize herself in the field of the fashion industry, however, after graduation, the girl and her parents considered this choice unserious, therefore, she chose economics as her basic higher education.
Career
Gulnara Karimova, whose biography, or rather, the story of a quick career take-off which is typical for the offspring of families with power and / or huge fortunes, often claimed in her interviews that she “made herself”.
She probably believed this sincerely, but it is unlikely that any Uzbek girl has a chance at 23 to become an adviser to her country's foreign minister. After a difficult divorce, she was sent to work at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the Russian Federation, and before that she combined the duties of a young mother of two children and diplomatic activities in representing her country in the UN. Further Karimova’s career went on increasing. Its peak was the appointment of Gulnara in 2008 as permanent representative of Uzbekistan to the UN. Unexpectedly for the uninitiated in June 2013, a message appeared in the world press that Karimova left this post.
Personal life
Officially, Karimova Gulnara divorced. She was married to a US citizen born in Afghanistan, an ethnic Uzbek Mansour Maksudi. Young people met in the summer of 1991, during a friendly party. After the wedding, the newly-made son-in-law of the President of Uzbekistan immediately received the position of head of the Tashkent representative office of Coca-Cola. In 1992, the firstborn was born to Gulnara and Mansur - the son of Islam, and after 7 years - the daughter of Iman. In 2001, the couple divorced, and Karimova, taking the children, left the family house in New Jersey. After this, the divorce proceedings began, which lasted 2 years and ended with an international scandal. The fact is that the American court ordered Gulnara to return her son and daughter to her ex-husband, and also issued a warrant for her arrest, accusing her of their abduction. The authorities of Uzbekistan did not stand aside and accused Maksudi of fraud, taking bribes, hiding taxes and a number of other crimes. He was also put on the international wanted list. In 2008, the Karimova case of custody of children was examined by the High Court of the State of New Jersey and decided to return them to Gulnara.
Later there were dry stories about Karimova’s civil marriage, but they were not officially confirmed.
Fund management and charity
For many years, Karimova Gulnara was the organizer of various events aimed at popularizing the culture of Uzbekistan abroad. In particular, she was a trustee of the Forum Fund, which has implemented more than 1.5 thousand projects and is included in the list of official partners of UNESCO. Karimova patronized other organizations, including the For Life! Association, which deals with the problems of women with breast cancer.
Thousands of participants are involved in some international projects of Gulnara, including from abroad. She was also the initiator of the Tashkent Golden Cheetah Film Forum and the theater festival.
Thanks to Karimova’s active charitable work, thousands of children were able to show their talents and study at art schools. She also regularly allocated grants and scholarships for teachers, gifted youth, allocated funds to maintain the traditions of ancient crafts.
Guli
In 2005, Karimova Gulnara announced the creation of her own designer brand GULI and presented a collection of clothes, jewelry and accessories.
Her visiting card was diamond evil eye bracelets with an eye made of colored stones, reminiscent of traditional jewelry that is given to newborns in Uzbekistan. They were worn with pleasure by Naomi Campbell, Carolina Scheufele, David Furnish and many others.
This did not surprise anyone. Indeed, Gulnara Karimova, whose height and weight fully corresponded to the accepted model standards, has always been considered the standard of taste for women of Uzbekistan. Later on, products from the natural cosmetics line appeared under the same brand name, developed on the basis of old recipes from Avicenna and the East, and in 2012 a perfume line consisting of Victorious men's and women's fragrances, Mysterieuse, was launched. In its creation took part the famous perfumer Bertrand Dyuzhafur.
Googoosha
In 2012, Gulnara Karimova released an English-language album in the United States, in the creation of which Max Fadeev took part. A little later, pop music lovers presented her new song in Russian, "The Sky Is Silent" with the participation of Gerard Depardieu.
It should be noted that the fascination with music began in Gulnara in her youth, and she was professionally engaged in vocals, and also wrote music and poems, introducing them to the general public under the pseudonym Googoosha.
“Potential Head of State”
Since 2008, many experts began to publicly express the opinion that Karimova Gulnara could become the next head of Uzbekistan. It was forgotten that this country is a republic, and the president is elected by popular vote there (the last elections were held in 2015).
In 2012, Gulnara Karimova herself, answering the question whether she could ever become the head of state, replied that every resident of Uzbekistan who has ambitions, as well as brains and aspiration, is a potential leader of Uzbekistan.
One year after this interview, rumors leaked about Gulnara’s conflict with his father. But by and large, such persons are always under the gun of the yellow press, which is only happy to launch another gossip in the media.
Now you know who Gulnara Karimova is, a photo of which for many years could be seen on the pages of many well-known political publications, as well as glossy magazines.