Yertysbayev called Kulibayev the President's successor

Kazakhstan President’s adviser Yermukhamet Yertysbayev told Kommersant newspaper that head of Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund Timur Kilibayev can become a successor of Nursultan Nazarbayev. “In case of an emergency situation, related to unexpected leave of the President, Kulibayev can be the one who will continue the President’s strategic course,” Yertysbayev said. Such opinion is based on the fact that Timur Kulibayev was one of the best students of Economy School of Moscow State University, has system thinking and broad managerial background. “Even though he never worked in the government but has ample experience in state management and politics,” the Adviser said. Yertysbayev emphasized that he was talking about this “hypothetically”, as the President will stay in his office until the end of his term. According to the adviser, Nazarbauev is “full of power and energy.” Yertysbayev did not support the version that Karim Massimov might be a candidate for the President’s position. “He is not even thinking of becoming one,” the adviser said. According to Yertysbayev, Mukhtar Ablyazov, who was the first to express such opinion, is just trying to “make mischief among the country's elite.”