Nurlan Balgimbayev

Nūrlan Ötepūly Balğymbaev (, ; 20 November 1947 – 14 October 2015) was a Kazakh politician who served as the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 10 October 1997 to 1 October 1999.

Biography

Early life and career Balgimbayev was a graduate of the Kazakh Polytechnic Institute.

From 1973 to 1986, Nurlan Balgimbayev worked in the oil industry, beginning as chief engineer of oil refinery Zhaikneft. In 1986, he was hired by the Soviet ministry of oil and gas. With the fall of the Russian block in 1991, Balgimbayev left for the US and studied one year at the University of Massachusetts and made a one-year internship at Chevron (1993-1994).

Political career Until 1997, he held different minister and vice-minister positions in the Kazakh government. From October 1994 to March 1997, Nurlan Balgimbayev was Minister of Oil and Gas. From March to October 1997, he was the president of KazakhOil (see Tengizchevroil).

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (1997–1999) On 10 October 1997, he was named Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and remained in office up until 1 October 1999. Balgimbayev's plan was also to increase the production of Kazakh oil from 23 million tons to 170 million annually. In 1998, he favored the sale of 40% of Tengiz oilfields to Chevron. In December 2007, he was appointed adviser to the President. Nurlan Balgimbayev was also involved in a bribery case led by oil-industry fixer Friedhelm Eronat. Coined as the Kazakhgate, the case implied the use of bribe money for luxury items and premium education fees in Switzerland.