Timur Kulibayev not willing to give up business for the sake of politics

During the sitting of Atameken Economic Chamber of Kazakhstan, a major business lobbying group in Kazakhstan, February 22, Timur Kulibayev, President Nazarbayev’s son-in-law, once again announced that he wasn’t going to give up business for the sake of politics. “Political processes in Kazakhstan are ever evolving. I do not rule out that some of businessmen might want to be more actively involved in politics. Businessmen constitute the active part of the nation: these are people ready to take responsibility, to progress (…) However, I believe one had better not combine these two things – it’s better to fully devote oneself either to business or to politics”, Mr. Kulibayev said at a press-conference February 22. “There are some professional politics who used to be businessmen but shifted to politics (…) I wish them all possible successes”, he said. In 2011 Forbes tagged Timur Kulibayev the most influential businessman in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan President’s adviser Yermukhamet Yertysbayev told Kommersant newspaper in July 2011 that the then head of Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund Timur Kilibayev could become a successor to President Nursultan Nazarbayev. “To be honest, this statement [on being a successor] caught me by surprise. I have never positioned myself as a politician”, Mr. Kulibayev stated right after Yertysbayev’s interview. At a press-conference September 7, 2011 Mr. Kulibayev once again refuted such a scenario. “Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected not long ago. For the years to come the [Presidential elections] issue has been resolved. President is in a good shape. May God bless him with health. As for me, I have never been involved in politics, nor do I belong to any political parties. I feel at ease in business and I want to pursue new achievements in business”, Mr. Kulibayev said, emphasizing that he has “no ideas of dealing with politics in the foreseeable future”.