P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Olimpur, Muhiddin

Tajik photo-journalist and an ardent promoter of Perso-Tajik culture,

Muhiddin Olimpur was born in the Aini District of Tajikistan on March

2, 1946. He received his early education in the village of Shamtich, and

his advanced education at the Linguistics Department of the Tajikistan

National University and the Institute of Fine Arts.

Olimpur served as a photographer and a journalist chiefly for Kom-

somoli Tojikiston and Adabiyyot va San'at, and for the British Broad-

casting Corporation (BBC). His contributions include Chahorboghi

Gulho (The Crossroad of Flowers), Rahnamoi Akkosi (A Handbook of

Photography), Tushai Chashm (Food for the Eye), 'Ishq Faryod Kunad

(Love Laments), and Iron Bui Modar Midahad (Iran Has Mother's

Fragrance)

In pursuit of documentary information about the relationship among

the Iranians and Tajiks, Olimpur traveled extensively in Afghanistan,

Iran, Egypt, Syria, England, Germany, and the United States.

During the 1992 Civil War and thereafter, he participated in many

forums on his own, as well as on behalf of the BBC for which he was a

foreign correspondent. As a result of his international activities, he or-

ganized two major exhibitions, Guldukhtaroni Tojik (Tajik Flower

Maidens) and Afghoniston az Nigohi Dust (Afghanistan from the Point

of View of a Friend, Kabul, 1988).

Olimpur was murdered on December 13, 1995, in Dushanbe.

Oqilov, Oqil

Tajik politician Oqil Oqilov, also referred to as Akil Akilov, was

born in Khujand in 1944.

Oqilov graduated from the Moscow Engineering and Construction

Institute in 1967. From then, until 1976, he worked at different engi-

neering and construction posts in Khujand. He was appointed the Min-

ister of Construction of Tajikistan in 1993. Before that, however, he

worked for the Communist Party of the Republic. From 1994 to 1996,

he served as Tajikistan's Vice-Premier. At the end of this term, he re-

turned to Khujand as its Deputy Chairman. In 1999, Oqilov was ap-

pointed the Prime Minister of Tajikistan.

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