Mintimer Shaimiev

Mintimer Sharipovich Shaimiev (born 20 January 1937) is a Tatar Russian politician who was President of Tatarstan from 1991 to 2010, re-elected in 1996, 2001 and 2005. ^{1 2}

He was born in the village of Anyakovo, Aktanyshsky District, Tatar ASSR, the son of Shagisharip Shaimukhammetovich. He graduated from the Kazan Agricultural Institute in 1959 and worked as an agricultural engineer, then rose through the republic's posts: minister of land reclamation and water management (1969), first deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers (1983), its chairman (1985) according to the prize's page, first secretary of the Communist Party in Tatarstan (1989) and speaker of its Supreme Soviet (April 1990), which proclaimed Tatarstan's sovereignty on 31 August 1990. ^{1 3}

Elected president on 12 June 1991, he held a referendum on sovereignty in March 1992 in which 62 per cent of voters were in favour. In January 2010 he said he would not seek another term, to make way for a new generation, and Rustam Minnikhanov succeeded him. In 2001 he co-founded the United Russia party; after stepping down he became State Counsellor of Tatarstan and chairs the Yanarysh Foundation. ¹

The prize's page says it was given for his efforts to revive Islamic culture in Tatarstan, promote Islamic teachings and values among its people and rebuild mosques destroyed in earlier eras, and for policies that strengthened understanding and peaceful coexistence among the population. ³

He received the King Faisal Prize for Service to Islam in 2007 and was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for intercultural dialogue in 2017. His honours also include all four classes of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland and the Order of Lenin (1966). ^{3 1}

Wikidata listed articles on him in thirty-five Wikipedia editions on 7 November 2026. ²

• English Wikipedia article, revision of 19 August 2026. ¹

• Wikidata item Q368896. ²

• The laureate's page on the King Faisal Prize's official site, read on 7 November 2026. ³