Rustam Emomali

Rustam Emomali (; born 19 December 1987) is a Tajik politician who is the current Chairman of the National Assembly of Tajikistan, Mayor of Dushanbe and the eldest son of Emomali Rahmon, the long-standing authoritarian leader of Tajikistan. Emomali's father appointed Emomali as the mayor of Dushanbe when he was 29-years-old. Rustam Emomali is believed to be prepared by his father to succeed him as the leader of Tajikistan; he holds the title of the constitutionally designated successor to the presidency. He heads the anti-corruption agency in Tajikistan and the state's financial oversight agency. Despite not having served in the armed forces, he holds the rank of major general. Early life and football career Rustam Emomali was born as Rustam Emomalievich Rahmonov (Tajik: Рустам Эмомалиевич Раҳмонов; ) in the district of Danghara, Kulob oblast (present-day Khatlon province) in Tajikistan, to parents Emomali Rahmon and Azizmo Asadullayeva. He graduated from the Tajik State National University with a specialist's degree in International Economic Relations and took courses with the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2007, following his father's suit, he dropped the Russian-style patronymic and last name, adopting his father's first name, Emomali, as his new surname. In 2007, Rustam Emomali co-founded the Dushanbe-based football club Istiklol and, during the next several years, he served as the club's captain and played for it as a striker. The club has won five national championships consecutively since 2011, owing at least partially to very favorable refereeing and other preferences. In 2011, Rustam Emomali was appointed deputy president of Tajikistan's Football Federation (TFT) and joined the International Relations Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia. In January 2012, the TFT named Rustam Emomali its new president. Following the appointment, he stopped playing for FC Istiklol and promised to cut all ties to the club. Starting in 2012, he served as a member of the FIFA Development Committee for two years. In 2016, the TFT reelected Rustam Emomali as its president for another four years.