Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, the late former Uzbek President Islam Karimov's younger daughter, says she is stepping down after nine years as Uzbekistan's envoy to UNESCO, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
Speaking at an international conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on August 28, Tillyaeva, 39, said she wants "to focus on my family, personal goals, and programs being implemented by the Islam Karimov Foundation."
The announcement comes a year after her father's death was announced on September 2, 2016.
Karimov, a former communist boss, ruled for 27 years at the center of a tight inner circle and ruthlessly applied the country's security and intelligence forces to keep a tight lid on dissent.
His elder daughter Gulnara Karimova, 45, who was once a high-profile socialite, fashion designer, pop singer, and ambassador to United Nations agencies in Geneva, is in state custody.
Last month, Uzbek authorities said Gulnara Karimova was sentenced to five years of "restricted freedom" in 2015 after she and several associates were convicted of crimes including extortion, embezzlement, and tax evasion.
