Kanatjan Alibekov

Colonel Kanatzhan "Kanat" Alibekov (Kazakh: Қанатжан Әлібеков, Qanatzhan Älibekov; Russian: Канатжан Алибеков, Kanatzhan Alibekov; born 1950) – known as Kenneth "Ken" Alibek since 1992 – is a former Soviet physician, microbiologist and biological warfare (BW) expert. He rose rapidly in the ranks of the Soviet Army to become the First Deputy Director of Biopreparat, where he oversaw a vast program of BW facilities.

In 1992, he emigrated to the United States; he has since become an American citizen and made his living as a biodefense consultant, speaker, and entrepreneur. He had actively participated in the development of biodefense strategy for the U.S. government, and between 1998 and 2005 he testified several times before the U.S. Congress and other governments on biotechnology issues. In the lead up to the war between the US and Iraq, he testified before Congress, without direct knowledge or evidence, that "attempts to wipe out Iraq's bioweapons capability were probably not successful." In the ensuing years of war, no evidence has been found in Iraq to back up his claims.

Dr. Alibek currently works as a professor and Vice-Dean of Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. He remains a citizen of the United States.

Alibek was born Kanat Alibekov in Kauchuk, in the Kazakh SSR of the Soviet Union (in present-day Kazakhstan), to a Kazakh family. He grew up in Almaty, the republic's former capital.

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