Absamat Masaliyevich Masaliyev (Абсамат Масалиевич Масалиев) (April 10, 1933, Alysh

Alysh

Alysh is a term for Central Asian folk wrestling or "belt wrestling" as incorporated in the ----International Federation of Wrestling on Belts...

, Osh oblast, Kyrgyz SSR — July 31, 2004, Bishkek

Bishkek

Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...

) was the leader of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic before it gained independence, and led the Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan

Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan

The Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan is a political party in Kyrgyzstan. PKK was founded on June 22, 1992.It was the largest single party in the Legislative Assembly of Kyrgyzstan between 2001 and 2005 with 15 of the 60 seats. Since 2005 it has only 1 of 75 seats. It was led by Absamat...

 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...

.

He began studies at the Mining Technical School in southern Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...

 in 1953. Three years later, he moved to the Moscow Mining Institute. He started his career as a deputy chief engineer at Kyzyl-Kiya

Kyzyl-Kiya

Kyzyl-Kiya is a city in the Batken Oblast, in southwestern Kyrgyzstan. It is situated on the southern edge of the Fergana Valley, 32 km southeast of Fergana, and 65 km southwest of Osh. The town is one of the oldest centers of the coal mining industry in Kyrgyzstan.Coordinates: ....

 coal mine in the south of Kyrgyzstan.

In 1961 Masaliyev became an instructor at the regional branch of the communist party in Osh

Osh

Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". The city is at least 3,000 years old, and has served as the administrative center of Osh Province since 1939...

.
He worked his way up the ranks until he became first secretary of the Central Committee

Central Committee

Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...

 of the Communist Party of Kyrgyz SSR in November 1985. From April to December 1990 he served as a chairman of the republic's Supreme Soviet

Supreme Soviet

The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...

.

Apas Jumagulov

Apas Jumagulov

Apas Jumagulov served as the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 14 December 1993 to 24 March 1998....

 and Absamat Masaliyev were the two original candidates for Kyrgyz Presidency

President of Kyrgyzstan

The President of Kyrgyzstan is the head of state and the highest official of Kyrgyzstan. The President, according to the constitution, "is the symbol of the unity of people and state power, and is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, and of an individual and citizen." The...

 on October 25, 1990, but neither could get the majority of votes, so the Supreme Soviet

Supreme Soviet

The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...

 chose Askar Akayev

Askar Akayev

Askar Akayevich Akayev served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until his overthrow in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution....

 to be the first president on October 27, 1990. Masaliyev was a candidate at 1995 presidential elections, losing to Akayev again. He held a seat in the lower house of the Kyrgyz Parliament from 1995 until his death of a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 in 2004.

External links

• Absamat Masaliyev at Radio Free Europe
  Radio Free Europe
  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...