Defense Minister Shukhrat Kholmukhamedov has been relieved of his post and transferred to another job, the president’s press service said.
Botir Kudratkhodjaev is taking over as defense minister after MPs in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis approved his nomination. The press service did not say what Kholmukhamedov’s new role would be.
Kholmukhamedov had held the defense portfolio since November 2024.
Kudratkhodjaev, born in 1975, most recently served as first deputy interior minister and head of the Operational Search Department, a post he was appointed to in January 2026.
He took charge of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in February 2025 and was awarded the rank of major general.
Kudratkhodjaev graduated from Tashkent State Law Institute in 1997 and began his career in the military prosecutor’s office. He served as military prosecutor of Tashkent province, military prosecutor of the Eastern Military District and first deputy military prosecutor.
He was later prosecutor of Surkhandarya province (2014-2016), prosecutor of Tashkent city (2016-2017), director of the Compulsory Enforcement Bureau under the Prosecutor General’s Office (2017-2020) and prosecutor of Khorezm province (2020-2022). From 2022 to 2025 he was first deputy prosecutor general and military prosecutor.
