Ozoda Rahmon is a senior government official, senator, Chief of Staff, and a daughter of president Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. She is among the ten most influential women in Central Asia and 20 most influential individuals in Tajikistan. Aside from being government official, Ozoda Rahmon is well known for her philanthropic endeavors, impacting and empowering women’s rights and educational reform in Tajikistan and outside.
Thanks to her status as a daughter of Tajikistan's president, Ozoda Rahmon has enjoyed a number of promotions to senior political offices. Between 2005 and 2007, she served as a culture and education attache at the Tajik embassy in Washington, DC, while her husband studied at the University of Maryland. In September 2007, she was appointed head of the consular department at Tajikistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Two years later, in September 2009, Ozoda Rahmon was appointed a deputy foreign minister. In May 2014, she was promoted to first deputy foreign minister. According to Ozoda Rahmon's official biography, the introduction of biometric passports and national ID cards in Tajikistan came as a result of her initiatives during her tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In January 2016, following about 11 years in diplomatic service, Ozoda Rahmon was appointed as head of the administration of president Emomali Rahmon, one of the key government positions in Tajikistan. In May 2016, she was also elected as a senator to the upper chamber of the country's parliament. Ozoda Rahmon holds a diplomatic rank of the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.
Political succession speculations
Ozoda Rahmon's political promotions, particularly her January 2016 appointment as the president's chief of staff, has fueled speculations that she might succeed her father as the leader of Tajikistan. In May 2016, a number of major changes were introduced to Tajikistan's constitution in a nationwide referendum. One of the key amendments reduced the minimum eligibility age for presidential candidates from 35 to 30. This means that Ozoda Rahmon can theoretically run for presidency any time after 2018.
Name change
In April 2014, following her father's suit, she changed her name from Ozoda Emomalievna Rahmonova to Ozoda Rahmon, effectively removing the Russian-style patronymic and the "-ova" ending from her surname. Although the short version of her name, Ozoda Rahmon is most frequently used, her full name is Ozoda Emomali Rahmon. She adopted her father's modified surname, Rahmon, rather than his first name, Emomali, as her brother, Rustam Emomali, had done.
Family
Ozoda Rahmon is one of the nine children of Tajikistan's president Emomali Rahmon. She is married to Jamoliddin Nuraliev, first deputy head of the National Bank of Tajikistan, who had previously served as the deputy finance minister from 2007 to 2015. The couple has five children, and her oldest daughter, Shahnoza Nuralieva, studies law in the United States of America. Ozoda's brother, Rustam Emomali, is a senior government official in Tajikistan.
