Chief of President’s State Security Service replaced

Rustam Jurayev is the new chairman of Uzbekistan's State Security Service, a government source told Gazeta. The president’s press secretary, Sherzod Asadov, confirmed the appointment and Jurayev's promotion from major general to lieutenant general.

Jurayev replaces Alisher Usmanov, who had led the service since 2020. This leadership change comes after a road accident in Tashkent involving three special motorbikes of the Traffic Patrol Service, which resulted in one officer's death.

Before his current role, Jurayev served as the first deputy minister of internal affairs and head of the Public Security Department from January 2026. The State Security Service is tasked with protecting the president, his family, former presidents, visiting foreign leaders, and other protected individuals, along with their residences, transport, and designated facilities.

Jurayev, born in 1968, graduated from the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1994. His career includes various positions within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1994-2008), the presidential administration (2008-2012), deputy head of the Tashkent city police department (2012-2015), head of the Namangan region internal affairs department (2015), chief of police in Khorezm region (until 2017), minister of emergency situations (2017-2018), and deputy minister of internal affairs and head of the Tashkent city police (February 2018-March 2020). He then commanded the National Guard from March 2020 to January 2026.