P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Kenjaev, Safarali

Tajik lawyer and politician Safarali Kenjaev was born in 1942 to a

Tajik family of farmers in the village of Choryakkoron, Ispichek Qish-

loq, Pobeida Khojagi, Lenin District. In 1933, his family moved from

the Tagob (Aini District) to Hissar. He was brought up and educated by

his father, Kenja Rajabov, and his mother, Qimat Sharifova. His mother

died in 1957 and his father in 1967. He attended school both in

Choryakkoron and Ispichek. At age 15, he joined the kolkhoz system as

a worker and received a salary. In 1960, after finishing high school, he

entered Tajikistan State University.

Kenjaev began his political career as the regional Attorney General

for Central Asian transport. On November 24, 1992, at the same time

that Rahmon Nabiev was elected on the first ballot as President with

(58% of the vote), Safarali Kenjaev (popularly known to be a Yagh-

nobi) was elected from among three contestants as the Leader of the

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