Zamira Sydykova

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Zamira Sydykova (born 1960 in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan), is the Kyrgyz ambassador designate to Canada and the former Kyrgyz ambassador to the United States, having been appointed to that position by president Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

Sydykova studied journalism at the prestigious Moscow State University and after graduating began working as a reporter for the popular youth newspaper, Komsomolets Kirgizii. In 1992, after Kyrgyzstan gained its independence from the Soviet Union, she founded the country's first independent newspaper, Res Publika and as editor-in-chief she struggled to promote freedom of the press and the concept of an open society. Her criticism of then president Askar Akayev and his increasingly authoritarian regime resulted in her arrest and imprisonment, along with repeated attempts by the authorities to close down the newspaper. In 2000 she was awarded the Courage in Journalism award by the International Women's Media Foundation for her efforts to promote free media.[1]

In 2005 she was appointed to the position of ambassador to the United States as a result of president Bakiyev's landslide election victory, following the popular uprising that forced former president Akayev to flee the country (see: Tulip Revolution).