Tajik Leader Names Daughter Deputy Foreign Minister

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon

DUSHANBE (Reuters) -- Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has appointed his daughter as deputy foreign minister, his office has said, following a trend of keeping power in the family in Central Asia.

Ozoda Rahmonova was promoted from the consulate division of the former Soviet republic's Foreign Ministry, where she has worked for the past two years.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov's daughter holds the deputy foreign minister post in her country.

In Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbaev's eldest daughter is a prominent member of the local elite, running a political party that has merged with her father's party.

Rahmon, 56, has seven sons and two daughters. In April, his eldest son Rustam Emomali was named deputy chairman of the country's Youth Union and is often present at talks with foreign government officials.