Absamat Masaliyev

Who was Absamat Masaliyev?

Absamat Masaliyevich Masaliyev was the leader of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic before it gained independence, and led the Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

He began studies at the Mining Technical School in southern Kyrgyzstan in 1953. Three years later, he moved to the Moscow Mining Institute. He started his career as a deputy chief engineer at Kyzyl-Kiya coal mine in the south of Kyrgyzstan.

In 1961 Masaliyev became an instructor at the regional branch of the communist party in Osh. He worked his way up the ranks until he became first secretary of the Central Committee 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.

Apas Jumagulov and Absamat Masaliyev were the two original candidates for Kyrgyz Presidency on October 25, 1990, but neither could get the majority of votes, so the Supreme Soviet chose Askar Akayev 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 in 2004.