Almazbek Atambayev
Encyclopedia
Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev (Cyrillic: Алмазбек Шаршенович Атамбаев; born September 17, 1956) is the President of Kyrgyzstan
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...

 since 1 December 2011. He previously was Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan
Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan
The Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan is the head of government of Kyrgyzstan. Generally, the President is in a stronger position than the Prime Minister in Kyrgyzstan. The president is allowed to appoint the Prime Minister temporarily, and his appointment is known as the acting Prime Minister...

 from 17 December 2010 to 1 December 2011, having also been Prime Minister from 29 March 2007 until 28 November 2007. He has also served as Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan is a political party in Kyrgyzstan. Members formed the party on 1 October 1993, but did not register with the Justice Ministry until 16 December 1994...

 from 30 July 1999 to 23 September 2011.

Political career under Akayev and Bakiyev

Atambayev was an unsuccessful candidate in the October 2000 presidential election, receiving 6% of the vote.
Almazbek Atambayev became the President of Kyrgyzstan, in 2011.

Atambayev served as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism in the government from 20 December 2005 until he resigned on 21 April 2006.

In November 2006 he was one of the leaders of anti-government protests in 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...

, under the umbrella of the movement 'For Reform!' (За Реформы). He was also involved in earlier protests in late April 2006.

On 26 December 2006 Atambayev rejected calls from other lawmakers for a dissolution of the Supreme Council
Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan
The Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan is the unicameral Parliament of Kyrgyzstan. It has 120 seats with members elected for a five-year term by party-list proportional voting.-History:...

, saying, "It is impossible for this Parliament to be dissolved at least until May [2007], and it has to adopt all the laws. Otherwise there will be a war in Kyrgyzstan, because even if Parliament adopts the [proposed] authoritarian constitution
Constitution of Kyrgyzstan
The Constitution of Kyrgyzstan is the supreme law of the Kyrgyz Republic . The constitution in force until 2010 was passed by referendum on 21 October 2007 and it is based on the first post-Soviet constitution originally adopted on 5 May 1993, a year and a half after the country had gained...

, I will tell you openly, we will not accept it. It would be a constitution adopted illegally. Then we would take every [possible protest action]. We are ready for that."

Following the resignation of Prime Minister Azim Isabekov
Azim Isabekov
Azim Beishembayevich Isabekov born 4 April 1960) served as the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 29 January until 29 March 2007....

 on 29 March 2007, Atambayev was appointed acting Prime Minister by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Kurmanbek Saliyevich Bakiyev is a politician who served as the second President of Kyrgyzstan, from 2005 to 2010...

. He was then confirmed in parliament by a vote of 48-3 on 30 March. He is the first prime minister in Central Asia to come from an opposition party. On 11 April, he tried to address a large protest in 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...

 demanding Bakiyev's resignation, but was booed by the protesters.

Bakiyev announced the resignation of Atambayev's government on October 24, 2007, following a successful referendum
Kyrgyzstani constitutional referendum, 2007
A constitutional referendum was held in Kyrgyzstan on 21 October 2007, after the constitutional crisis caused by amendments passed since the Tulip Revolution in 2005 being invalidated by the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan on 14 September 2007; in response, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev had...

. The government was to remain in office until after a parliamentary election in December.

Nonetheless, Atambayev resigned on 28 November 2007; Bakiyev accepted the resignation, while praising Atambayev for his performance in office, and appointed Acting First Deputy Prime Minister Iskenderbek Aidaraliyev
Iskenderbek Aidaraliyev
Iskenderbek Rysbekovich Aidaraliyev is a former Acting Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan. He was appointed to that position on November 28, 2007, following the resignation of Almazbek Atambayev, and was replaced by Igor Chudinov on December 24, 2007, following the December 2007 parliamentary election...

 in his place as Acting Prime Minister. Edil Baisalov
Edil Baisalov
Edil Baisalov is presently chief of staff to the head of the interim government in Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva, following the 2010 Kyrgyzstani uprising on April 7, 2010. He is a Kyrgyz political activist and former president of the Coalition for Civil Society and Democracy, a leading civic...

 of the Social Democratic Party claimed that Atambayev was forced out of office because he was an obstacle to alleged government interference in the parliamentary election.

Presidential candidate

On 20 April 2009 Atambayev was announced as a candidate for the July 2009 Kyrgyz presidential elections
Kyrgyzstani presidential election, 2009
A presidential election was held in Kyrgyzstan on 23 July 2009. The date was set after the constitutional court ruled that the extension of the presidential term from four to five years did not apply until the next presidential election, calling for elections by 25 October 2009; in response, a...

. But on polling day Atambayev withdrew his candidacy claiming "widespread fraud": "Due to massive, unprecedented violations, we consider these elections illegitimate and a new election should be held".

Political career since 2010

Following the 2010 parliamentary election
Kyrgyzstani parliamentary election, 2010
An early parliamentary election was held in Kyrgyzstan on 10 October 2010. All 120 seats of the Jogorku Kenesh were elected by using a party list system...

, he was chosen to be Prime Minister at the head of a coalition government with his SDPK, Respublika, and Ata-Zhurt
Ata-Zhurt
Ata-Zhurt, sometimes Ata-Jurt, , or Fatherland, is a political party in Kyrgyzstan. Its political base is in the south of the country, but the party is headquartered in the capital Bishkek...

 (which won a plurality in the election).

Atambayev ran in 2011 to succeed Roza Otunbayeva
Roza Otunbayeva
Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politican who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011. She was sworn in on July 3, 2010, after acting as interim leader following the 2010 April revolution which led to the ousting of then President Kurmanbek...

 as President of Kyrgyzstan. On election
Kyrgyzstani presidential election, 2011
Early presidential elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 30 October 2011 to replace Interim President Roza Otunbayeva. It was won in the first round by the former Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan.-Background:...

 day, October 30, 2011, he won in a landslide, defeating Adakhan Madumarov from the Butun Kyrgyzstan party and Kamchybek Tashiev from the Ata-Zhurt
Ata-Zhurt
Ata-Zhurt, sometimes Ata-Jurt, , or Fatherland, is a political party in Kyrgyzstan. Its political base is in the south of the country, but the party is headquartered in the capital Bishkek...

party.

Foreign Policy

Atambaye has repeatedly presented himself as a pro-Russia politician. He announced Kyrgyzstan’s entry into the Customs Union, he promised to secure the withdrawal of the American base from the country in 2014, he has spoken of the need for closer economic relations with Russia, which temporarily employs about 500,000 citizens of Kyrgyzstan.
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