President of Uzbekistan, succeeding Islam Karimov after Karimov's death in 2016. He is less dirigiste than his predecessor. He has cut tariffs on electric vehicles, in part to reduce pollution, while retaining a soft spot for the state's Chevrolet car industry; he ordered his ministers to swap their Mercedes-Benz cars for Chevys. He has also courted Chinese carmakers: BYD opened a factory in Jizzakh, the region of his birth, and gave him a luxury SUV.
The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner.