Islam Karimov is the first and, thus far, only president in the history of Uzbekistan. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbekistan achieved independence for the first time since 1924. Karimov, who was leader of the territory while it was still under Soviet occupation, achieved a landslide victory in the general election, taking home 86% of the popular vote. That figure is highly contested, as there were widespread allegations of electoral fraud throughout all of Uzbekistan. Since taking power 23 years ago, Karimov has systematically suppressed the rise of any other political parties and extended his term limits well beyond their initial duration. He regularly places his friends and family members in administrative positions that they are profoundly unqualified for, and his greed and nepotism has kept Uzbekistan poor and downtrodden.