KAZAKHASTAN -Profile - Daniyal Akhmetov.

The prime minister's post in Kazakhstan has been compared to a "revolving door", with Akhmetov being the seventh prime minister of the country. Formerly the "akim" (governor) of Pavlodar Oblast, he was presented to a joint session of the Kazakh parliament on June 13, 2003 as Nazarbayev's choice to replace Imangali Tasmagambetov, who had resigned on June 11. In introducing Ahkmetov, Nazarbayev said his experience as oblast governor would be useful as the country needed to speed up the pace of social and economic development. Akmetov was approved in an almost unanimous vote by 36 of 39 senators and 73 of 77 members of the Mazhilis (parliament).

For his part, Akhmetov told the parliament that there should be continuity even when governments change, indicating that he intended to make few ministerial changes and that the policies of his predecessor would remain in place. Expectedly, he followed Nazarbayev's line that Kazakhstan was building a state governed by the rule of law where everyone has the right to freedom of conscience and expression, but that everyone should work within the law. He added that there should be no dissidents, but rather a constructive dialogue in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. He noted that there were presidential programs aimed at making the country prosperous and that everyone should be engaged in implementing them.

Akhmetov is considered an insider, someone who has come up through the system. He has been in the system for a while and knows how it works and how to work within it. He is known to be close to several foreign companies. Akhmetov is considered as an experienced negotiator on political issues with MPs and is seen as someone who would provide an advantage to Nazarbayev in the event of a parliamentary crisis, for instance.

Akhmetov is seen as a man who is quite firm, but prepared to listen to opposing opinions - not necessarily to act upon them, however. Rather, he has a reputation as an administrator with little tolerance for real opposition, to the extent that he was reportedly nicknamed "The Terminator" in Pavlodar for the cleanup campaign he conducted against allies and sympathisers of his predecessor as governor, the jailed founder of the opposition coalition Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov

A native of Pavlodar, the 49-year-old Akhmetov was its governor since 2001. He has degrees in construction engineering and economics and has held a number of government posts, including deputy prime minister for industry, energy, transport, and communications.