Akezhan Kazhegeldin

Who is Akezhan Kazhegeldin?

Akezhan Kazhegeldinov served as the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan until he resigned in October 1997, ostensibly for health reasons, though many saw it as an act protesting authoritarianism in Kazakhstan. He now heads the Republic People's Party of Kazakhstan, but lives in the West in exile. Adam Albion of Radio Free Europe characterized Kazhegeldin's efforts at democratizing Kazakhstan as "defiant, confrontational, and openly scornful of the idea" that Nursultan Nazarbaev, the President of Kazakhstan, "will ever share power willingly."

Digital Freedom Foundation credits Kazhegeldinov's Prime Ministership with establishing a "stable currency, bank system, and privatization programs that led to growth. He worked at attracting foreign investment, and helped to lay groundwork for a stock market."

In 1998 he was elected President of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan.

The publishing of his book, Kazakhstan: The Right to Choose, led to a political rift with President Nazarbayev. The rift widened when Kazhegeldinov's 21st Century Freedom Foundation sponsored amendments to the constitution regarding free elections. He has since been barred from participating in presidential elections because he participated in an unsanctioned demonstration, "an administrative offense." In April 1998, after he had left the country, the government charged him with tax evasion and illegally buying real estate in Belgium. He denies the charges and said they were motivated by politics.