Rukhshona Rahmon was appointed as a deputy chief of the foreign ministry at some point last week, according to the ministry’s website. She is reportedly the third child of the president to hold public office.
The appointment follows a year in which the ruling family has tightened its grip over Tajikistan’s politics.
Last December, the country enacted a law granting Emomali and his family immunity from prosecution. A May referendum abolished term limits for the president and lowered the age of eligible candidates, effectively paving the way for the president’s eldest son, Rustam Emomali, to take the job as early as December 2017.
Rustam, 28, was handpicked to head Tajikistan’s newly formed anti-corruption agency in 2015, the most recent in a series of appointments dating back to 2006. The president’s eldest daughter, Ozoda Rahmon, was appointed as chief of staff of her father’s administration in January. A few months later, in May, she was elected as a senator.
Tajikistan’s foreign ministry declined a request from OCCRP for details on the date of Rahmon’s appointment. She previously worked at Tajikistan's embassy in London.
