Translated material
Seventh Prime Minister of Nazarbayev
The previous Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov submitted his resignation to President Nazarbayev , which was signed by the head of state on January 8 after his meeting with the Prime Minister. 52-year-old Danial Akhmetov turned out to be the record holder for the longest tenure in this post - he headed the government for more than three and a half years, since June 2003. Having convened the last meeting of the cabinet (according to the Constitution of Kazakhstan, the resignation of the prime minister automatically means the resignation of the entire government. - Ed. ), Akhmetov told him “once again thank you very much for the high honor and trust of working next to the president - this is a great honor for any citizen of our country " Addressing his now former colleagues, the ex-prime minister expressed “hope that they will continue their work on this path” in order to “creatively implement the ideas of the head of state.”
These words once again testify to the “technical” nature of the government of Kazakhstan, both the resigning one and the future one. As for the reasons for his resignation, Akhmetov did not say anything about it. His resignation was expected in the fall of 2006, but then, according to Vremya Novostei, the offer made by President Nazarbayev to former Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Pavlov to head the government was rejected by the latter. And Akhmetov’s statement remained unsigned.
Observers in Kazakhstan believe that the government was lucky: the timing of its work coincided with a sharp rise in oil and metal prices on world exchanges, which ensured sustainable growth in Kazakhstan's GDP through the export of these raw materials. The program of innovative modernization of the economy promised by Akhmetov was never implemented, says former Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Petr Svoik. According to him, quoted by the Fergana.ru news agency, Akhmetov’s government “practically solved the problem of maintaining the economic and political situation for the next election of President Nazarbayev.” It coped with this task; in December 2005, Nazarbayev extended his powers for another seven years, receiving 91% of the votes. Western observers recognized the 2005 elections as not meeting democratic standards.
Kazakh agencies, citing anonymous sources in Astana, yesterday already named the name of the future prime minister - this is Karim Masimov . Appointed a year ago as deputy prime minister in charge of developing an economic development strategy, former head of the commercial People's Bank and former assistant to Nazarbayev, 41-year-old Masimov has been named among the president's favorites for several years. However, it would be premature to say that his name will be named today. The leak of information about the appointment of Masimov, who is reputed to be a good manager and financier, as prime minister, may turn out to be a launched trial balloon in an attempt to test the reaction of Kazakh political clans and business elites.
The fact is that Karim Masimov is not a Kazakh by nationality, but a Uighur, and his brilliant command of Chinese, Russian and English will not replace the absence of the Kazakh language in this list... Masimov’s advantages, at least for Moscow, include his good connections with the Kremlin administration. On the other hand, many in Astana consider him too loyal to the Chinese lobby in Kazakhstan. Among other contenders for the premiership in Astana are the head of the presidential administration, Adilbek Dzhaksybekov, and the Minister of Economy, Aslan Musin.