P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Vazirov, Zakir

Tajik politician Zakir Vazirov was born in the village of Urfad in the

Vakhie Valley in Tavildara in 1948.

Vazirov graduated from the Dushanbe Pedagogical Institute with a

degree in history in 1970. Thereafter, he worked in the same institute,

first as a Lecturer and later as the Head of the Department of Philoso-

phy. He became the Head of the Department of Higher Education in

1991. In 1992, Vazirov joined the Opposition and, under their auspices,

became the Minister of Education in the Government of National Rec-

onciliation. After the defeat of the Opposition, he received his doctorate

degree in Islamic Philosophy in 1995. He then chaired the State Book

Chamber, and was the Head of the Department of Philosophy and Cul-

tural Studies of the Tajik Institute of Commerce. After the signing of

the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Ac-

cord, according to which the Opposition was entitled to 30 percent of

government posts, Vazirov's position was revived. In October 1998, he

became Tajikistan's Vice-Premier. The following year, however, he

again left government work once.