Rustem Enverovych Umierov (Crimean Tatar: Rustem Enver oğlu Ümerov) is a Ukrainian politician, 41. From September 6, 2023 - Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
He was born on April 19, 1982 in the Samarkand Region of the Uzbek USSR. A Crimean Tatar by nationality, the Umierov family has its roots in Alushta and was deported together with the majority of Crimean Tatars by the Stalin regime in 1944. One of Umierov's great-grandfathers was the imam of a mosque in Alushta, the other was a village headman.
At the age of 9, Rustem Umierov returned to the Ukrainian Crimea with his family.
He graduated from the Crimean boarding school for gifted children of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
He received his higher education at the National Academy of Management (NAM, Kyiv) majoring in economics (bachelor's degree) and finance (master's degree).
Business career
In 2003 (2004)-2010, he worked at Lifecell (the country's third largest mobile operator), engaged in logistics, then working with clients and rose to the position of head of directorate.
Then he worked as a managing director at the ICG Investments and iCapital companies.
In 2013, together with his older brother Omer Kirimly Aslan founded the investment company ASTEM, which deals with investments in the fields of communications, information technologies and infrastructure.
Public and political activity
In parallel with business, he was engaged in public activities as a member of the Kurultai and other Crimean Tatar associations.
From 2006 to 2019, he was an assistant to the Member of Parliament of Ukraine, the leader of Mejlis, Mustafa Dzhemilev. Actively accompanied him on international trips, developed connections in Turkey and other Islamic countries.
In 2019, he became a Member of Parliament of Ukraine from the Holos party, which was then headed by Sviatoslav Vakarchuk.
In the Verkhovna Rada, Umierov was most interested in the topic of Crimea and the protection of the rights of the Crimean Tatars, he was one of the co-authors of the law on indigenous peoples of Ukraine. Participated in the development of the Strategy for the De-occupation of Crimea, participated in the launch of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Crimean Platform.
Participation in negotiations with russia
In February-April 2022, he participated in the Ukrainian delegation during negotiations with russia.
He was poisoned in March, admitted it in an interview later, but refused to provide details. In the same interview, he noted his respect for the head of the Office of the President, Andrii Yermak.
He also participated in negotiations regarding the release of prisoners and captives of Crimean Tatar origin.
State Property Fund and Ministry of Defense
From September 7, 2022, he headed the State Property Fund of Ukraine, according to Umierov, he was personally offered to take this position by President Zelenskyy.
During Umierov's leadership, the State Property Fund began to deal with land operations. In general, there were no notable accusations of corruption against Umierov during his leadership of the State Property Fund.
On September 6, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Rustem Umierov as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
Family
He is married and has three children: a son born in 2013 and two daughters - born in 2015 and 2021.
Muslim. Fluent in English and Turkish.