Following the presidential Address to the People of Kazakhstan on September 1, the government has been reorganized into twenty-one ministries with positions reshuffled and assignments to new ministries, QazMonitor reports.
Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov remains in office, having led the government since January 11, 2022. Tamara Duisenova and Serik Zhumangarin have retained their positions as deputy prime ministers but have vacated their roles as the Minister of Labor and Social Protection and the Minister of Trade and Integration, respectively.
The vacant position of Labor Minister has been filled by Svetlana Zhakupova, while Arman Shakkaliyev now heads the Trade Ministry.
From 2013 to 2019, Zhakupova served as a vice-minister in the Labor Ministry, and subsequently, she held the role of Ombudsperson for the Rights of Socially Vulnerable Categories of the Population. Meanwhile, Shakkaliyev previously served as the first Vice Minister of Trade and Integration.
Marat Akhmetzhanov has stepped down from his post as Interior Minister and has been replaced by Yerzhan Sadenov. Sadenov has held senior positions within the ministry throughout his career, and since January 2022, he has served as Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.
Marat Karabayev now heads the Ministry of Transport, while Kanat Sharlapayev, the former chair of the Baiterek national development holding, has been appointed as the head of the Ministry of Industry and Construction. Both government bodies have been reorganized from the now-disbanded Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development.
Following the restructuring of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, Aida Balayeva has been appointed as the Minister of Culture and Information, and Yermek Marzhikpayev now holds office as the Minister of Tourism and Sport. Balayeva previously served as one of the deputy heads of the Presidential Administration, and Marzhikpayev served as the head of the Akmola region.
Another reorganization concerned the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, which has relegated water management issues to a separate office. The reorganized ministry is now led by Yerlan Nysanbayev, while the newly established Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is headed by Nurzhan Nurzhigitov.
Aidarbek Saparov has assumed office as the Minister of Agriculture, having previously worked as the head of the North Kazakhstan region.
Lastly, Timur Suleimenov, the former first deputy head of the Presidential Administration, has replaced Galymzhan Pirmatov as the head of the National Bank.
