MAY 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Perhaps echoing its Soviet past, Kazakhstan will fire a third of its high-level government officials after they failed a new test, media reported quoting the chairman of the state service agency, Alikhan Baimenov. The test for officials was introduced last year to professionalise Kazakhstan’s bureaucracy.
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(News report from Issue No. 137, published on June 3 2013)
FEB. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked the head of the national equine association live on television for not sufficiently promoting the horse industry, media reported. Mr Berdymukhamedov has set much weight in promoting various aspects of the Turkmenistan’s culture since becoming president in 2007.
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(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)
FEB. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked the head of the national equine association live on television for not sufficiently promoting the horse industry, media reported. Mr Berdymukhamedov has set much weight in promoting various aspects of the Turkmenistan’s culture since becoming president in 2007.
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(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)
JAN. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s autocratic president, sacked the head of the state’s natural gas company in a government reshuffle, media reported. Gas is Turkmenistan’s biggest income earner. Sahatmyrad Mammedov had headed Turkmengaz for less than a year.
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(News report from Issue No. 120, published on Jan. 18 2013)
JAN. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s autocratic president, sacked the head of the state’s natural gas company in a government reshuffle, media reported. Gas is Turkmenistan’s biggest income earner. Sahatmyrad Mammedov had headed Turkmengaz for less than a year.
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(News report from Issue No. 120, published on Jan. 18 2013)
SEP. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked Aslan Musin as his chief of staff. In Mr Musin’s place, Mr Nazarbayev promoted the loyal PM Karim Masimov. No official reason was given for the change but many analysts believe that Mr Musin had become too powerful.
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(News report from Issue No. 106, published on Sep. 28 2012)
MAY 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked his energy minister, Bairamgeldy Nedirov, for “serious shortcomings”, media quoted the presidential office as saying. Mr Nedirov had served as energy minister since Aug. 2008. His dismissal on May 25 came two days after signing a gas deal with India and Pakistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 090, published on June 1 2012)
APRIL 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – An enraged Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s president, sacked his energy minister, Yarmukhamet Orazgulyev, for being a bad parent, media reported.
Mr Orazgulyev’s son had been racing through Ashgabat with other sons and daughters of the Turkmen elite, when he crashed his car. One person was killed in the crash.
It was not clear who died in the crash but Mr Berdymukhamedov’s irritation was clear.
Not only did he sack Mr Orazgulyev as the energy minister but he also sacked the head of the prestigious university where many of the offspring of the elite study.
The incident provides two useful insights into Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most repressive and secretive countries.
Firstly, Mr Orazgulyev’s reaction to his dismissal showed the extent of Mr Berdymukhamedov’s powers. State media described him agreeing with Mr Berdymukhamedov that he had been a poor parent and begging for any sort of job.
Secondly, the incident highlights the joy-riding, privileged lifestyles of the sons and daughters of the elite who appear to have been able to treat Ashgabat at night as their personal race track, with officials and policemen unwilling to challenge them.
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(News report from Issue No. 084, published on April 20 2012)
JAN. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov fired Aman Khanaliyev, the head of the state energy company Turkmengaz. Mr Khanaliyev had been in the post for a year. This is the third time Mr Berdymukhamedov has sacked the head of Turkmengaz since he became president in 2007.
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(News report from Issue No. 72, published on Jan. 13 2012)
JULY 12 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked the country’s deputy defence minister four days after a blast at an arms depot in a town near Ashgabat killed scores of people. The government has said 15 people died but the opposition website chrono-tm.org said up to 200 people may have been killed.
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(News report from Issue No. 49, published on July 20 2011)