State Security Service

The State Security Service (Uzbek Davlat Xavfsizlik Xizmati, DXX; in Russian Служба государственной безопасности, СГБ, often romanised as SGB) is the national intelligence agency of the government of Uzbekistan. It was created on 26 September 1991 as a successor to the KGB and its republican affiliate in the Uzbek SSR. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has retained the same responsibilities and a similar range of functional units, including paramilitary police and special forces. It was renamed from the National Security Service on 14 March 2018. The SNB was a rival of the Interior Ministry until 2005, when it was brought under its control. In recent years, the SNB has been sidelined in favor of the Uzbekistan National Guard, which was largely seen as being loyal to former president Islam Karimov. The SNB is described by Amnesty International and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting as a secret police force. Leadership The following officials have led the SNB since its establishment: Rustam Inoyatov (27 June 1995–31 January 2018) Ikhtiyor Abdullayev (31 January 2018–11 February 2019) Abdusalom Azizov (Since 11 February 2019)