Ermūhamet Ertısbaev
# Ermūhamet Ertısbaev

Ermūhamet Qabidenūly Ertısbaev (Kazakh: Ермұхамет Қабиденұлы Ертісбаев,; born 19 November 1956) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is serving as the chairman of the People's Party of Kazakhstan since 27 March 2022. Prior to that, he served as the Kazakh ambassador to Belarus from November 2017 to August 2019 and to Georgia from April 2013 to November 2017.

Ertısbaev worked in several governmental ministries of Culture, Information which was split in March 2006 with Ertısbaev being appointed as a Culture and Information. He was also a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR from 1990 to 1994 and has served in President Nursultan Nazarbayev's administration where he had been called as Nazarbayev's "wily political adviser."

## Biography

### Early life and career

Ertısbaev was born on 19 November 1956 in the city of Karaganda. In 1978, he graduated from Karaganda State University from the Faculty of History. Ertısbaev is a candidate of historical sciences and holds a doctorate in political science.

After graduating, Ertısbaev from 1978 onwards was engaged in research and teaching activities as he worked as an assistant at the Zhezkazgan Pedagogical Institute, secretary of the Komsomol Committee, teacher at the Karaganda Cooperative Institute, and the head of the Department of Political History of the Karaganda Medical Institute. From 1982 to 1986, he was an intern-teacher and a post-graduate student of Moscow State University. During that time, Ertısbaev served in the Soviet Army within the communications company in the Baltic Military District.

### Political and diplomatic career

In 1990, Ertısbaev was elected to the 12th convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR from the 105th Lenin electoral district in Karaganda. During his tenure as a legislator, he served in the Committee for the Development of Science and Public Education. He was also an acting secretary of the Committee on Deputy Powers and Deputy Ethics from July 1991.

As the Communist Party of Kazakhstan was dissolved in September 1991, Ertısbaev who previously was a party member, became a co-chairman of the newly formed Socialist Party of Kazakhstan (SP) and was the SP's secretary of Political Executive Committee from April 1994.

Since Kazakhstan's independence, Ertısbaev held a close relationship with President Nursultan Nazarbayev. He has served under Nazarbayev's administration by being director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President from April 1998 until becoming the head of the socio-political department in May 2000. Ertısbaev simultaneously worked as a presidential advisor to Nazarbayev from 1995 to 1998, 2002 to 2006, and 2008 to 2013 respectively.

On 18 January 2006, Ertısbaev was appointed as a Culture, Information, and Sports Minister in Daniyal Akhmetov's government where he served briefly until President Nazarbayev split the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sport into a Culture and Information Ministry and a Tourism and Sport Ministry through a decree on 27 March 2006. Nazarbayev appointed Ertısbaev the Minister of Culture and Information and Temirkhan Dosmukhanbetov the Minister of Tourism and Sport. On 12 May 2008, Ertısbaev was dismissed from the post as he was appointed as presidential advisor and was succeeded by Mukhtar Kul-Mukhammed.

It became known on 3 April 2013 that Ertısbaev was appointed as a Kazakh ambassador to Georgia. Prior to that, the KazTAG on 22 February reported that he would be transferred to the post which Ertısbaev himself at that time had no knowledge of, asserting in a phone interview that he had heard the news only for the first time.

**Kazakh ambassador to Belarus and brief retirement**

On 24 November 2017, Ertısbaev was transferred as the Kazakh ambassador to Belarus. During his tenure, he took part in the November 2018 meeting of the Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives of the Commonwealth of Independent States to the statutory and other bodies of the Commonwealth in the CIS Executive Committee in Minsk where he outlined that Kazakhstan stands for an open migration with a removal of trade barriers and bringing citizens together within the CIS. Ertısbaev continued working as an ambassador in Belarus before eventually being relieved on 12 August 2019 by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

After returning to Kazakhstan from his diplomatic posts, Ertısbaev during his interview with Tengrinews, stated the decision in stepping down as a diplomat was primarily made on his own and that working without former president Nazarbayev would "not be easy" and instead "challenging in every way". Ertısbaev also revealed that he had initially planned to continue staying in his post until Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's planned visit to Kazakhstan in October 2019 and that he was thankful for Tokayev in "hastening" the return. During that time, Ertısbaev described himself in wanting to work as a "free expert" after reaching his retirement age and that his pension amounted to 178,000 tenge.

### Chairman of the People's Party (2022–present)

On 18 March 2022, it was revealed that Ertısbaev had joined the People's Party of Kazakhstan (QHP) in which party chairman Aiqyn Qongyrov assessed that Ertısbaev's within the QHP would benefit the party and "whole Kazakhstan". Shortly beforehand, Ertısbaev had publicly criticised the QHP for "lacking activity" at a roundtable meeting.

At the 19th People's Party of Kazakhstan Extraordinary Congress held on 28 March 2022, Ertısbaev was elected as the QHP chairman.

## Interviews

### Associated Press: Borat

Reporters for Kazakhstanskaya Pravda interviewed Ertısbaev in November 2006, asking him how he felt about British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Ertısbaev said that the film "above all mocks American manners and rural people and their intellect. Sasha Cohen's 'art' clearly isn't a masterpiece... But in reality there are truly funny parts. And people like to laugh." However, he criticized Cohen's sense of humor as "black, insulting, insolent, and openly stupid... Paradoxically, after the film's release, we have seen a more ardent and avid interest in Kazakhstan."

### Interfax Agency: Nurzhan Subkhanberdin

When Interfax interviewed Ertısbaev in November 2004, he referred to Nurzhan Subkhanberdin, chairman of Kazkommertsbank bank, as a Kazakhstani "Khodorkovsky." Ertısbaev, speaking in favor of legislation that would limit the abilities of "various elite groups" to influence politics through lobbying, told Interfax that "in the transition period, in the post-Soviet area, any attempt from the oligarchs to influence... the president, the Parliament and the government can result in serious political cataclysms." Critics, such as reporters for Respublika, said the government's de-monopolization campaign would give Kazakhstanis a chance "to see how the government will put monopolists and their protectors from the head of state's inner circle in their place."

## Controversies

While serving as Nazarbayev's advisor, Ertısbaev espoused pro-government views in various interviews and statements, often ensuring critics that Nazarbayev's leadership led to a strong state that avoided revolutions, wars, upheavals. In 2009, during a roundtable on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Ertısbaev denied the existence of cult of personality in Kazakhstan, claiming that "political pluralism, multi-party system, pluralism in the press, criticism of the head of state" was in place.

### Assandi-Times

Unknown individuals distributed a fake edition of the Assandi-Times on 4 June 2004. The paper, which has become the most read paper in Kazakhstan for its criticism of corruption, instead criticized political rivals of President Nazarbayev in the fake edition. Galina Dyrdina, deputy editor of the Assandi-Times, said, "We confidently state that the publication of the fake Assandi-Times was sanctioned either by the president's administration or by structures close to it." Ertısbaev said Dyrdina's statements about government involvement "did not reflect reality."

### Tulip Revolution

In March 2005, Ertısbaev called the possibility of a color revolution occurring in Kazakhstan as it did in Kyrgyzstan. The weakness of Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev led to a "mass spontaneous riot". The political opposition in Kazakhstan will "have to wait for another 10 years" before they can take control of the government citing Nazarbayev's popularity and high chance of reelection due to the strength of the Kazakh economy. He called Kazakhstan a "very strong state" that if need be, will "quell a mob... with clubs and tear gas."

### Response to Sarsenbaiuly's death

A court sentenced Erzhan Utembayev, the head of the Senate administration, to twenty years in prison for his involvement in the assassination of opposition politician Altynbek Sarsenbayev on 11 February 2006. Dariga Nazarbayeva, one of the most powerful Kazakh politicians and daughter of the President, responded to the conviction by calling on Nurtai Abykayev, the Speaker of the Senate, to resign. Global Insight, an international think tank, linked her criticism of Abykayev to her rivalry with Timur Kulibayev, the husband of her sister Dinara. Global Insight reports that the move "backfired" and President Nazarbayev had Ertısbaev take control of the Khabar Agency while coercing his daughter to merge the Asar party with the Otan party. Bagila Bukharbayeva of the Associated Press also drew this conclusion. Ertısbaev said the take over of Khabar would help Kazakhstan improve its "information security."

