ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed Serik Zhumangarin as the new Minister of National Economy on Dec. 21, relieving him of his previous position, reported Akorda. Zhumangarin retains the post of Deputy Prime Minister, which he has held since 2022.
This follows the dismissal of Nurlan Baibazarov, who held the post for less than a year.
Zhumangarin, 55, is from the Aktobe Region and graduated from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute with a degree in thermal physics. Before entering public service in 2005, he worked in the oil industry.
In 2017, Zhumangarin became Vice Minister of National Economy, two years later, he took the post of member of the Eurasian Economic Commission’s Competition and Antitrust Regulation Unit. In 2020, Zhumangarin was appointed Chairman of the Kazakhstan Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition. In 2022, he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration, a role he held until September 2023.
Introducing Zhumangarin, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov emphasized ensuring dynamic economic growth, highlighting the need for structural changes, effective budget and tax policies, and improved budget forecasting.