Nurtai Abykayev
Encyclopedia
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. Previously he was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation and before this chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan
Senate of Kazakhstan
The Senate of Kazakhastan is the upper house of two chambers in Kazakhstan's legislature, known as the Parliament . The Senate has 47 members, 40 of whom are elected for six-year terms in double-seat constituencies by the local assemblies, half renewed every two years; and 7 presidential...
. He is a long-time friend and assistant to President Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...
, and is viewed as the leader of one of the political "clans" that make up Kazakhstan's elite.
Biography
Nurtai Abykayev was born on May 15, 1947 in ZhambylTaraz
Taraz , is a city and a center of the Jambyl Province in Kazakhstan. It is located in the south of Kazakhstan, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, on the Talas River...
, Kazakhstan. He studied at the Ural Polytechnic Institute, graduating in 1970. This was followed by two years in the Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, after which Abykayev worked as an engineer in a heavy-machinery factory in Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
(then Alma-Ata) until 1976. Throughout the 1980s he worked his way up the hierarchy of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan
Communist Party of Kazakhstan
The Communist Party of Kazakhstan is a political party in Kazakhstan. -Origin:The Communist Party of Kazakhstan was founded 1936 when Kazakhstan was granted a Union Republic status within the Soviet Union...
, eventually becoming Nazarbayev's aide. After independence he served throughout the presidential administration until he was named ambassador to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1995. He returned to Kazakhstan the next year, and later became the head of the National Security Committee
National Security Committee
The National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan is an intelligence agency in Kazakhstan. It was founded on 13 July 1992.-History:...
.
In 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
Mig
-Industry:*MiG, now Mikoyan, a Russian aircraft corporation, formerly the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau*Metal inert gas welding or MIG welding, a type of welding using an electric arc and a shielding gas-Business and finance:...
fighter planes to North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
by the Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense. Several members of his staff were arrested for their direct involvement in formulating the trade.
Abykayev's absence from government did not last long. By April 2000 he had been appointed deputy foreign minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
. He was then named head of the Presidential administration in January 2002.
Abykayev became chair of the Senate on March 10, 2004. He was re-elected on December 1, 2005. In a large political shake-up
2007 Kazakh political shakeup
The Kazakh political change in hierarchy of 2007 began on 8 January 2007 when Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov unexpectedly resigned and ended with the Senate's confirmation of Karim Masimov as his replacement on 11 January...
in January 2007, Abykayev was replaced by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, later being appointed as the Kazakhstani ambassador to Russia.
In August 2010, he was appointed again as the head of the National Security Committee, replacing Adil Shayakhmetov
Adil Shayakhmetov
Adil Shayakhmetuly Shayakhmetov was the head of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee from December 2009 to August 2010.-Personal life:...
. 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.
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
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
.
There has been speculation that Abykayev was involved in the murder of Altynbek Sarsenbayev, however several other high-profile politicians, including Nazarbayev, have also been accused of the murder at some point.
Abykayev is married. He has three children and three grandchildren.