He became better known in 1992 after the abolition of the post of president in the country, when at the dawn of the civil war (1992–1997) he became Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (Parliament) of Tajikistan as a compromise candidate of communists and neo-communists on the one hand and liberal-democratic, nationalist and Islamist forces (the United Tajik Opposition) on the other.

Political opponents are repressed, violations of human rights and freedoms are severe, elections are not free and fair, and corruption and nepotism are rampant.

[2][3][4][5] Various important government positions are occupied by his family members, such as his 36-year-old son Rustam Emomali, who is the chairman of the country's parliament and the mayor of its capital city, Dushanbe.

[6][7][8] Rahmon was born as Emomali Sharipovich Rakhmonov[b] to Sharif Rahmonov (c. 1912–1992)[9] and Mayram Sharifova (1910–2004),[10] a peasant family in Danghara,[11] Kulob Oblast (present-day Khatlon Region).

[15] Former Interior Minister Yaqub Salimov later recalled that Rahmon's appointment was made because he was "nondescript", in which other field commanders thought that he could be cast aside "when he had served his purpose.

On 6 November 2013, he was re-elected for the second seven-year term in office, with about 84% of the vote, in an election that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said lacked "genuine choice and meaningful pluralism".

[24] Other key changes outlawed faith-based political parties, thus finalizing the removal of the outlawed Islamic Revival Party from Tajikistan's politics, and reduced the minimum eligibility age for presidential candidates from 35 to 30, enabling Rahmon's older son, Rustam Emomali, to run for president any time after 2017.

[25] In January 2017, Rustam Emomali was appointed Mayor of Dushanbe, a key position, which some analysts see as the next step to the top of the government.

[31] The migrations in general have three phases: Tajikistan under Rahmon is a neopatrimonial regime, characterized by a high degree of clientelism, corruption, and poor governance.

[35][36] In a diplomatic cable that was leaked in 2010, the U.S. ambassador in Tajikistan reported that Rahmon and his family control the country's major businesses, including the largest bank.

[38] During his presidency Tajikistan in 2011 ceded about 1,000 or 1,122 sq km or about 0,8% of its land to the China[39] as part of a deal of the 1999,[40][41][42] which essentially constitutes treason by the regime.

[45] Polygamy became a norm as well in the republic during the regime[46] as dominating religion - Sunni Islam and the Salafi movement do not forbid it, however, it is not officially legal.

[51] In December 2015, a law passed by the Tajikistan's parliament gave Rahmon the title "Founder Of Peace and National Unity, Leader of the Nation", in Tajik: Асосгузори сулҳу ваҳдати миллӣ – Пешвои миллат, Asosguzori sulhu vahdati millî – Peshvo'i millat; in Russian: Основатель мира и национального единства – Лидер нации, Osnovatel mira i natsionalnogo yedinstva – Lider natsii).

In addition to granting Rahmon lifelong immunity from prosecution, the law also gave him a number of other lifelong privileges, including veto powers over all major state decisions, the freedom to address the nation and parliament on all matters he deems important, and the privilege of attending all government meetings and parliament sessions.

[72] Recently, it has been exposed that the Grandson of Emomali Rahmon purchased a luxury three-bedroom beachfront apartment on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah when he was just 9 years old.

[75][76] Following the move, scores of governments officials, members of parliament, and civil servants around the country removed Russian-style patronymics and "-ov" endings from their surnames.