Mukhtar Ablyazov
| Mukhtar Kabulovich Ablyazov | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
May 16, 1963 Galkino, Kazakh SSR |
| Nationality | Kazakh |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Alma Shalabaeva |
Mukhtar Ablyazov (born 16 May 1963, Galkino, South Kazakhstan) is a Kazakh dissident, politician, economist, businessman, and banker. He is the founder and leader of ‘Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan’ (DCK), a political party which directly opposes the authoritarian rule of Nursultan Nazarbayev. He is also the author of Ablyazov against Nazarbayev.
Ablyazov is currently fighting extradition from France to Russia. In Russia, Ablyazov faces ill-treatment and unfair trial. Many Human Rights organisations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as European Parliamentarians have written to the French government advising against the extradition of Mukhtar Ablyazov.
In 1986, Ablyazov graduated from the Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute. There he earned a degree in theoretical physics. After graduation, he worked as a junior researcher at the Kazakh National University.
In 1987, Ablyazov married Shalabayeva Alma.
In 1990, Ablyazov was enrolled in postgraduate studies in the Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute. For that reason, he was fired from his role as a junior researcher at the Kazakh National University.
Ablyazov started working during the fall of the Soviet Union and the start of Kazakhstan's Independence. His first job was the buying and selling of computers and copying machines. In 1991, Ablyazov registered his first company and called it "Madina," which is the name of his first daughter.
In 1992, Ablyazov started his business by supplying all the regions of Kazakhstan with products such as salt, sugar, flower, matches, tea, chocolate, and medicine. In order to run this business, Ablyazov established Astana Holding in Kazakhstan, a multi-sector private holding company, which established and consisted of: "Astana-Sugar", "Astana-Food","Aral-Salt", "The Chimkent Pasta Factory", "Astana- Medical Service", "Astana-Motors", "Astana-Interotel", "Astana-Bank", "Trade House Zhanna (furniture)."
In 1998, together with a consortium of Kazakh investors, Ablyazov acquired a loan to buy the shares in Bank TuranAlem in a privatization auction for $72 million. He later paid back the loan. The bank later came to be known as BTA Bank.
In 1997, Ablyazov was appointed as head of the state-owned Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company. KEGOC was a company close to buncruptcy at the time of his appointment as its head. In one year, he managed to make the state-owned company profitable.
In 1998, as head of KEGOC, Ablyazov was named Minister for Energy, Industry, and Trade.
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