State and public figure Zafar Hakimov passes away

Zafar Abdullayevich Hakimov, a prominent state and public figure, and Head of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at the Institute of Art History of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, has passed away. The news was confirmed by the press service of the Academy of Sciences.

Zafar Hakimov was born on August 14, 1942, in Bukhara. He graduated from Tashkent State University in 1964 and began his career the same year at the Institute of Art History, where he held positions ranging from laboratory assistant to senior research associate and scientific secretary.

Throughout his distinguished career, Hakimov served in numerous leadership roles in cultural and state institutions. From 1985 to 1988, he headed the Art Fund of Uzbekistan. Between 1988 and 1990, he was a senior official in the Department of Culture of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan. From 1990 to 1992, he worked as a leading consultant for culture, science, and spiritual education in the Office of the President of Uzbekistan.

In 1992–1993, Hakimov served as the First Deputy Minister of Culture and later as Minister. From 1993 to 1995, he was First Deputy Chairman of the Uzbek Television and Radio Company, before becoming its Chairman from 1995 to 1997. He later held senior advisory roles in the President’s Office and contributed as a leading scientific editor of the state scientific publishing house "National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan".

Since 1999, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the scientific-practical and educational journal "Moziydan Sado". Over the course of his career, Hakimov authored more than 50 publications—including articles, monographs, and manuals—on history, archaeology, and architecture. Notably, from 1970 to 1979, he participated in the Soviet-Afghan archaeological expedition, which led to the discovery of numerous ancient oases and settlements in Northern Afghanistan.

“The Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan expresses its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” the statement read.

It should be noted that earlier, Galina Pavlovna Matviyevskaya, a full member of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, passed away in Orenburg, Russia, at the age of 94.