Kazakh politician
Nurtai Abykayev
(
Kazakh
:
Н?ртай ?б??ай?лы ?б??аев
,
romanized:
N?rtai Abıqai?ly Abıqaev
; born 15 May 1947) is a
Kazakh
politician who was the chairman of the
National Security Committee of Kazakhstan
from August 2010 to December 2015 and from September 1998 to August 1999.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Previously he was
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Russia
and before this chair of the
Senate of Kazakhstan
from 2004 to 2007.
[4]
[5]
He is a long-time friend and assistant to President
Nursultan Nazarbayev
, and is viewed as the leader of one of the political "clans" that make up Kazakhstan's elite.
[6]
[7]
Biography
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]
Early life and career
[
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]
Abykayev was born in the village of Jambyl in
Almaty Region
. He studied at the Ural Polytechnic Institute, graduating in 1970. This was followed by two years in the
Soviet Red Army
, after which Abykayev worked as an engineer in a heavy-machinery factory in
Almaty
(then Alma-Ata) until 1976.
Political career
[
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]
Throughout the 1980s, Abykayev worked his way up the hierarchy of the
Communist Party of Kazakhstan
, eventually becoming Nazarbayev's aide. After independence he served throughout the presidential administration until he was named
Ambassador to the United Kingdom
on 9 November 1995. He returned to Kazakhstan the next year, and later became the head of the
National Security Committee
.
[8]
[9]
On 9 August 1999, Abykayev was dismissed from his post as chairman of the National Security Committee for his role in a scandal over the sale of old
MiG
fighter planes to
North Korea
by the Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense.
[10]
Several members of his staff were arrested for their direct involvement in formulating the trade.
[11]
Abykayev's absence from government did not last long. By April 2000, he had been appointed deputy
foreign minister
.
[12]
He was then named head of the
Presidential Administration
on 29 January 2002.
[6]
Abykayev became chair of the Senate on 10 March 2004 where he was re-elected on 1 December 2005.
[13]
In a
large political shake-up
in January 2007, Abykayev was replaced by
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
, later being appointed as the Kazakhstan Ambassador to Russia.
On 23 August 2010, he was appointed again as the head of the National Security Committee, replacing
Adil Shayakhmetov
. Shayakhmetov was removed from his post in the aftermath of the arrest of Prosecutor General's Office official Murat Musabekov, who was fingered as allegedly plotting a coup in an anonymous letter allegedly circulated by NSC officers.
[14]
[15]
Abykayev also serves as the Secretariat head of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, a meeting of world religious leaders organized by President Nazarbayev in
Astana
.
[16]
There has been speculation that Abykayev was involved in the murder of
Altynbek Sarsenbayuly
,
[17]
however several other high-profile politicians, including Nazarbayev, have also been accused of the murder at some point.
[7]
[18]
Personal life
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Abykayev is married. He has five children (Marat, Sergey, Aliya, Nuray and Amina) and three grandchildren.
[9]
See also
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References
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External links
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