Former Uzbek leader's daughter resigns as ambassador

ALMATY (Reuters) - Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, daughter of former Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, has stepped down as Uzbekistan's UNESCO representative, becoming the latest official from her father's administration to depart.

Karimova-Tillyaeva, 39, said on her Facebook page she would work on her own projects in charity, education and other areas. She did not say whether she planned to return to Uzbekistan after quitting the Paris-based job.

Karimova-Tillyaeva's departure from public service follows a series of reshuffles made by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev who has removed from his cabinet a number of officials appointed under his predecessor, who died in 2016.

This week, Mirziyoyev consolidated his power by sacking veteran security boss Rustam Inoyatov, who had been regarded as the second most influential official in the country after the president himself.

Karimova-Tillyaeva first announced her plans to resign last August, roughly a year after the death of her father who had run the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation with an iron fist for 27 years.

She said at the time she wanted to focus on her family and personal goals.

Since her father's death Karimova-Tillyaeva had been his only close relative holding a prominent government post.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Toby Chopra)