Baqytzhan Saghyntaev

Baqytzhan Äbdirūly Saghyntaev ( , born 13 October 1963) is a Kazakh politician who was a Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, from 9 September 2016 until his resignation on 21 February 2019. He served as the Äkim of Almaty from 28 June 2019 until he was replaced by Erbolat Dosaev on 31 January 2022 following the 2022 Kazakh unrest which greatly affected the city. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Early life and education Saghyntaev was born in the village of Üsharal. His father, Äbdir Saghyntaev (1921–1986), was a World War II veteran who worked as the director of the Talas Sheep Breeding Plant.

In 1985, Saghyntaev graduated from the Kazakh State University with a degree in economics. That same year, he became a lecturer at the Department of Political Economy of the Almaty Institute of National Economy. From 1988 to 1992, he worked at the Kazakh State University, where he went from an assistant to an assistant professor of sociology. After Kazakhstan's independence from the Soviet Union, Saghyntaev was engaged in entrepreneurial activity.

On 20 January 2012, Saghyntaev was appointed as Minister of Economic Development and Trade. On 24 September 2012, he became First Deputy Chairman of Amanat. On 16 January 2013, Saghyntaev was appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development.

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (2016–2019)

On 8 September 2016, Saghyntaev was nominated by President Nursultan Nazarbaev for the post of the Prime Minister. The following day, on 9 September, Saghyntaev's candidacy was approved by the Parliament. Shortly after on 28 September, he was appointed as the chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Samuryq-Qazyna.

In November 2016, Saghyntaev drew attention to the number of reductions in pediatricians in the country. He supported Deputy PM Imanghali Tasmaghambetov's initiative to restore the faculties of pediatrics in Kazakh medical universities. Saghyntaev also instructed to tighten control over the activities of veterinary services and ensure the entry of cattle burial grounds and anthrax burials in the information system of the State Land Cadastre.

In response to inflation, he sought to prevent the continuing rise of food prices for 2017. Despite the promises, the inflation of that year reached 7.1%. In response, Saghyntaev blamed local governments for their failure in increased prices of food, suggesting äkims (local heads) to punish deputy äkims who he claimed to be responsible for soaring costs.

Saghyntaev slowly drew criticism from President Nazarbaev in relation to his policies towards the self-employed population. In October 2018, Saghyntaev's cabinet was eventually threatened to be sacked by Nazarbaev who went as far as suggesting being replaced by Singaporean and Japanese officials. On 30 January 2019, at an enlarged meeting of the government, Nazarbaev publicly slammed Saghyntaev and his ministers as "cowards".

On 4 February 2019, a fire erupted in an apartment in Astana, killing five children who belonged to a single family. This sparked fury and protests from the mothers who demanded proper housing, more kindergartens and financial support for families owning more than one child. Saghyntaev expressed his condolences to the tragedy and told his cabinet to be stricter in fire safety inspection at homes to prevent incidents.

Saghyntaev continued to serve as the PM until 21 February 2019 when the government was dismissed due to lack of economic development. He was replaced by Asqar Mamin who was appointed as Acting PM until being confirmed by the Parliament on 25 February.

Post-premiership On 1 March 2019, Saghyntaev became the State Secretary of Kazakhstan. He shortly served the position before becoming the head of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan on 24 March.

Äkim of Almaty (2019–2022) On 28 June 2019, Saghyntaev was appointed as the äkim of Almaty, outlining his goal in making the city a "safe, comfortable, modern metropolis where every Almaty citizen has the opportunity for a decent life." He ordered the police to conduct an analysis of the criminal situation in the city, to intensify the fight against hooliganism and robbery, and to increase the number of surveillance cameras on the streets. In response with dealing in crimes, 32 police posts were installed, with 4 in each city district. The location of the posts was determined based on the incidents of offenses and crimes that occurred in the area.

Saghyntaev announced on his Instagram page on 19 August 2019 about returning the previous speed limit on Al-Farabi Avenue from 60 km back to 80 km after many complains by citizens.

On 29 August 2019, he proposed planting at least a million new trees in Almaty and planned to actively work with the government and Samuryq Energy JSC to reduce emissions from stationary sources.

On 27 November 2019, at the Almaty Investment Forum, Saghyntaev remarked the city should be at the top 100 best cities in the world in terms of quality of life and business opportunities, in which he used San Francisco as an example.

Saghyntaev assessed that the New Almaty project is "one of the important tasks" for the city, which offered businesses to invest in the development of the territory on the outskirts of the city, which would amount to a total of one trillion tenge.

At the annual briefing of the Central Communications Service held on 7 December 2020, Saghyntaev announced that the economic situation in the city had been stabilized. He insisted that Almaty retains the potential for rapid recovery in the post-epidemic period and that it remains an international center of investment activity. In response to the fate of Almaty Light Rail, Saghyntaev said that the project is underway and that it needs financial model for it to work.

On 29 January 2022, it was speculated that Saghyntaev would be dismissed from the post after President Toqaev hadn't rule out in his removal, which he called Saghyntaev "a conscientious person in terms of the performance of official duties" although adding that he would take account in regards to the mood by the Almaty residents. On 31 January, Saghyntaev's dismissal was made public in which according to a presidential decree, was due to transfer to another unspecified job. He was replaced by Erbolat Dosaev, who served as the National Bank chairman prior.

COVID-19 Following the COVID-19 outbreak in Kazakhstan in March 2020, 27 roadblocks were installed to prevent citizens from traveling in or out of the city. On 4 April 2020, Saghyntaev approved the construction of an infectious disease hospital, which was opened on 24 April. On 16 April, Saghyntaev announced that mass gathering events, including sports, would be cancelled until 30 June.

In May 2020, after the announcement of easing lockdowns nationwide, religious spaces and retailers began functioning in the city with quarantine measures. Roadblocks were lifted on 1 June 2020. Saghyntaev–in turn–urged all Almaty residents to wear face coverings. However, after an increase in COVID-19 cases, strict measures were taken with cut in working hours and government employees being instructed to switch to remote work. By 2 September 2020, Saghyntaev announced that the situation was stabilized. Telling Almaty citizens to adhere to the mask orders to prevent the rise of cases. In October 2020, he warned of a possible second wave of the infections during a live interview on Almaty TV channel, stating that the city was prepared to deal with new cases if necessary.

Following an increase of cases in the Almaty, Saghyntaev announced in new restrictions being placed, noting that the city would not go under lockdown unless there would be a daily growth of more than 100–150 infected persons at the hospitals.

2022 Kazakh unrest

During the 2022 Kazakh unrest, Saghyntaev addressed Almaty residents regarding the situation, in which he claimed that city had been taken under the control by the authorities and urged everyone not to succumb to "provocations and lawlessness" after riots had broken out on the night of 4 January 2022 which resulted in the state of emergency being introduced.

Despite Saghyntaev words, unrest continued getting worse in Almaty, leading to gunfire exchange in the streets, widespread looting of stores and banks, as well as administrative and television station buildings being burned down. It was reported that Saghyntaev on the evening of 6 January had come under gunfire while being inside the car, resulting in his driver being hit by a bullet while Saghyntaev was left uninjured, managing to flee the scene with the bullet-stricken driver. According to Saghyntaev himself, he claimed that the incident was an assassination attempt, describing it as "organized terrorist actions".

On 8 January 2022, just days after staying out of public eye, Saghyntaev made his reappearance at the meeting from where he instructed city officials to start clearing neighbourhoods occupied by the armed militants, as well as normalize the situation with food supply and security.

Following the unrest, a petition calling for Saghyntaev's dismissal was launched, upon which gained thousands of signatures in just few hours. From there, Saghyntaev was criticized for failing to boost morale to the city residents, refusing to go on air with an appeal and staying out of public for days during the riots.

Eurasian Economic Commission (2024-present) On February 1, 2024, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Other activities

Corporate boards

Small Business Development Fund, chairman of the board of directors (2001–2002) Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, member of the board of directors (2004–2005) KEGOC, member of the board of directors (2004–2006) Kazakhtelecom, member of the board of directors (2004–2006) Samruk-Kazyna, member of the board of directors (2012) KazAgro, chairman of the board of directors (from 2012) Kazatomprom, chairman of the board of directors (2015) Astana EXPO-2017 (since 2015) KazAgro, chairman of the board of directors (2016) Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, member of the board of directors (from 2016) Samruk-Kazyna, chairman of the board of directors (2016–2019) Kazakh Invest, chairman of the board of directors (from 2017) Eurasian Economic Commission, Member of the Board (2022) Financial and Business Association of Eurasian Cooperation, Chairman Supervisory Board (August 11, 2022)

Non-profit organisations

Council of Foreign Investors under the President, member (from 2012, 2016)

Awards

Personal life He is an author of a number of scientific works, publications on state regulation of the natural monopolies, small and medium business development.

Saghyntaev is married and has two children.