KAZAKHSTAN - Profile - Kasymzhomart Tokayev.

The Prime Minister since Oct. 1, 1999, when PM Nurlan Balgimbayev was made president of KazakhOil (see DT), Tokayev has been close to Nazarbayev for years and acts as chief spokesman for his regime. Until then he used to be deputy premier and foreign minister. A good diplomat but with limited powers, he is relatively young and likes to project the image of a serious man. He is a China expert.

Tokayev has acknowledge to the Western press that some Kazakh laws "are perhaps not so democratic". But he quickly stresses the need for Astana to keep concentrating on economic development. "This is our priority for the moment", he told a visiting Western journalist in mid-2000.

Marat Ospanov: An ally of Nazarbayev, Ospanov has been an influential speaker of the Mazhlis, Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament. Like Nazarbayev he has been opposed to the idea of selling the state equity in the Tengiz JV.

Last elected in October 1999, the Mazhlis is dominated by pro-Nazarbayev figures who won 80% of the seats and got 57% of the vote. International observers said in a report published in February 2000 that at least half of the MPs would not have been elected if the vote had been free and fair. Premier Tokayev said he accepted the criticism but democracy could not be implemented immediately. "For western countries it took many years, so in eight years here it is absolutely impossible. Probably there are short-comings and mistakes. But it's very important to see the trend. I believe within 10 or 20 years, Kazakhstan will be one of the most well-developed".