Serik Akhmetov

Serik Nyghmetūly Akhmetov (born 25 June 1958) is a Kazakh politician and economist, who was Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 2012 to 2014. He served as the Minister of Defense from April to October 2014. Akhmetov served for a time as first deputy äkim of Astana before being appointed to government as Minister of Transport and Communications on 25 September 2006. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of the Atameken National Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers of Kazakhstan since 2005.

From March 2009, Akhmetov served as Deputy Prime Minister before becoming the akim of Qarağandy Region in November 2009. In January 2012, he was appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister before becoming PM following the resignation of Kärim Mäsimov on 24 September 2012. In November 2014, Akhmetov was arrested after being accused of committing a crime while serving as an äkim of Qarağandy Region to which he was convicted in December 2015. He was eventually released in September 2017.