Introduction

Almazbek Atambayev was sworn in as president on 1 Dec. 2011. His election represented the first peaceful handover of power since the country gained independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He succeeded Roza Otunbayeva, who assumed the post on a temporary basis after the previous incumbent, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was ousted in a violent uprising in April 2010. A successful entrepreneur, Atambayev has favoured closer ties with Russia.

Early Life

Atambayev was born on 17 Sept. 1956 in Chui, a northern region of what is now Kyrgyzstan. He studied at the Moscow Institute of Management, from where he graduated with a degree in economics. From 1983 until 1987, when the Kyrgyz Republic was still a constituent part of the Soviet Union, he served on the Supreme Council of the Republic.

In 1993, 2 years after the country had declared independence, Atambayev was one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. Having established himself as a prosperous businessman in the post-Soviet era, he became chairman of the party in 1999. In 2000 he won 6% of the vote in a presidential election. In Dec. 2005 he was appointed minister of industry, trade and tourism, but resigned 5 months later. In Nov. 2006 he was among the leaders of anti-government protests in the capital, Bishkek. He served as prime minister from March to Nov. 2007, and ran again for president in April 2009 but withdrew on the day of the ballot, citing electoral fraud.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in April 2010, prompting a wave of ethnic violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities in the south of the country. A national referendum approved a new constitution that weakened the authority of the president and shifted power towards the legislature. Parliamentary elections followed and a coalition government was established for the first time in the country’s history. Atambayev was appointed prime minister once more, a position he held until the presidential election in Oct. 2011.

Atambayev gained a comfortable victory at that election which, though criticized by some observers, was regarded as a significant democratic achievement.

Career Peak

Atambayev came to power in a country riven by ethnic division. He pledged to foster national unity and described Russia as the country’s ‘main strategic partner’. Soon after assuming office he said that he would look to close a US military base in the country when its lease expired. This policy was endorsed by parliament in June 2013, after which the base closed in June 2014.

In Sept. 2012 Atambayev appointed technocrat Zhantoro Satybaldiyev, a technocrat, as prime minister following the collapse of the coalition government in the wake of corruption allegations, a poor economic record and the resignation of former premier Omurbek Babanov. Further reports of corruption also prompted the fall of Satybaldiyev’s administration in March 2014 and the subsequent appointment of Dzhoomart Otorbayev as the new premier, although with no changes to other key ministerial portfolios. He in turn resigned in April 2015 and was succeeded by Temir Sariyev. In parliamentary elections the following Oct. Atambayev’s Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) was returned as the largest party with 38 seats and another coalition government under Sariyev’s premiership was formed.

In April 2016 Sooronbay Jeenbekov was sworn in as prime minister after Sariyev and his cabinet resigned having been accused of corruption by a parliamentary commission. Jeenbekov’s government also resigned in Oct., but he was reappointed and nominated a largely unchanged new administration that was approved by parliament and by Atambayev the following month. In a national referendum in Dec. about 80% of voters endorsed proposed constitutional amendments that included increasing the powers of the prime minister and the SDPK-dominated government. However, critics believed that the amendments would strengthen the executive at the expense of parliament and the judiciary.

In accordance with the constitution, Atambayev was only eligible to serve one 6 year term. On 24 Nov. 2017 he was replaced by Sooronbay Jeenbekov, also from the SDPK, as president.