Dariga Nazarbayev appointed Vice PM in Kazakhstan

 Dariga Nazarbayev has been appointed Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports.

"By the decree of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Dariga Nazarbayeva has been appointed the new Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan," Akorda tweeted.

She replaced Berdibek Saparbayev who was appointed Akim (Governor) of Aktobe Oblast.

Kazakh political analyst Yerlan Karin said that Nazarbayeva's appointment would give a momentum to social issues in the country.

"I think it is an interesting and expected appointment. It was expected, because Dariga Nazarbayeva has been an active politician. As a lawmaker (...), she raised pressing issues in social development and pointed out issues in social spheres such as education, social protection and others. She also offered certain solutions. Nazarbayeva has proved herself to be an expert in solving complex social problems. So, from this standpoint, her appointment was expected," Karin explained.

Karin added that Nazarbayev showed adherence to principles and consistency in resolving social issues. Moreover, the new appointment, according to the political analyst, was influenced by forthcoming reforms in Kazakhstan. Karin said that President Nazarbayev put emphasis on recruiting highly professional individuals to push reforms forward.

The press secretary of the President Dauren Abayev, too, commented on Nazarbayeva's appointment via IA Novosti-Kazakhstan.

"The Head of the State took the issue of appointments very carefully. Each decision follows a thorough analysis of the candidate's work and results. President Nazarbayev considers a number of factors such as efficiency, achievements and quality of work," Abayev said.

"Dariga Nazarbayev knows the social sphere very well. She has shown herself to be an efficient lawmaker. Today she is supervising the implementation of the 100 Concrete Steps plan. I believe her appointment was purely meritocratic," Abayev said.

Meanwhile, Abayev believes that the fact that Nazarbayeva is leaving the Parliament will not affect the efficiency of the legislative body.

Dariga Nazarbayev is the oldest daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev and Sara Nazarbayeva. She studied history at Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1980-1983. She continued her studies in history at Kirov Kazakh State University. In 1985-1987, Nazarbayeva returned to Moscow State University as a researcher. She completed her doctorate degree in political sciences and history. Nazarbayeva led Khabar state-run news agency for an extended period of time. In 2012, she became a lawmaker and chaired the Committee of Social and Cultural Development. On April 3, 2014 she was voted as Vice Speaker of the Majilis of the Parliament (lower chamber) and the Head of Nur Otan party faction. Aside from political work, Nazarbayeva was actively involved in opera. She gave a number of concerts, one of which took place at Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris.  

By Gyuzel Kamalova