KAZAKHSTAN: CHANGES IN THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002375 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR INL/AAE, SCA/CEN, SCA/RA TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SNAR KCRM KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: CHANGES IN THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs Alik Shpekbayev has been appointed to a position in the presidential administration. Shpekbayev was one of post's closest interlocutors in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and the only Vice-Minister to have risen through the ranks of the MVD. Though not officially a promotion, this appointment bodes well for Shpekbayev's future in the Kazakhstani law enforcement system. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) According to press reports, President Nazarbayev appointed Vice-Minister of Interior Alik Shpekbayev Head of the Law Enforcement System Department of the Presidential Administration, making Shpekbayev one of the lead presidential advisors on law enforcement issues. Although they are separate divisions of the Presidential Administration, the head of the Secretariat of the Security Council also has oversight of the Law Enforcement System Department. ¶4. (U) Shpekbayev was formerly Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and was responsible for some of the most difficult and complex sections of the MVD: the Committee of Administrative Police, the Committee of Road Police, the Legal Department, and Interpol. Shpekbayev was also the only Vice-Minister in the MVD who rose through the ranks and was not a political appointee, which not only made him the most experienced Vice-Minister, but also the most respected by career employees of the MVD. BACKGROUND ON THE SECURITY COUNCIL ¶5. (U) The Security Council is a consultative and advisory body established by President Nazarbayev. The Council advises the president on all areas and includes the chairmen of both the upper and lower houses of Parliament, Prime Minister, Chairman of the Committee on National Security (KNB),and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense. The Secretary of the Security Council is appointed by the president and manages the Secretariat of the Security Council and the Law Enforcement System Section of the Presidential Administration. The current Secretary, Kairbek Suleimenov, also rose through the ranks of the MVD. From 1972 through 1987, he was an investigator in several prosecutor generals' offices and police departments. After Kazakhstan's independence, Suleimenov was First Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs for one year before becoming State Councilor on Law Enforcement and Judicial Issues. Suleimenov served twice as Minister of Internal Affairs. BIO NOTES ¶6. (U) Alik Shpekbayev was born on July 4, 1957, in the Alma-Ata (Almaty) Oblast of Kazakhstan. He graduated from the Karaganda Higher School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in 1987 and the MVD Academy of the USSR in 1992. He has a Master's degree in jurisprudence. From 1980 to 1984, Shpekbayev served in the Alma-Ata Oblast as a detachment commander at a prison camp and later of a jail. He later became Chief of the Balkash Regional Department of Internal Affairs and Chief of Administration of the Department of State Investigative Committee of the Alma-Ata Oblast. In 1997, he was transferred to the Central MVD and was appointed head of the City Administration of the Internal Affairs of the Almaty Oblast. Since November 2003, he has served as Vice Minister of the MVD. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and medals. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Though this appointment is not officially a promotion because Shpekbayev is moving from the Ministry to the Presidential Administration, his career is clearly advancing rapidly. As the Vice-Minister in charge of many of the most important areas within the MVD and much of the interaction with the international community, he brings a great deal of experience to the Presidential Administration. With this appointment, Shpekbayev is likely being groomed to be the next Minister of Internal Affairs. It is a very common procedure for future ministers to be moved to the Presidential Administration in preparation for their future appointment. Though rumors often abound about changes in the MVD, President Nazarbayev has consistently denied such rumors. It is not yet clear that Shpekbayev is next in line to become Minister of Internal Affairs or, if he is, how long he would serve in the Presidential Administration before he would be considered ready to take the helm at the MVD. END COMMENT. ASTANA 00002375 002 OF 002 MILAS