President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak walk past an honour guard in Astana on May 13, 2009. Lee Myung-bak is on a working visit expected to touch on oil and gas issues.
A brief statement gave no reason for the dismissal and said only Danial Akhmetov had been "relieved of his duties" by order of the president.
Akhmetov is a veteran politician in Kazakhstan and was prime minister from 2003-07 before taking up the post of defense minister.
The development comes two months after the arrest of a deputy defense minister in Kazakhstan.
The politician was accused of "abuse of power" over handing out contracts for the delivery of Israeli weapons to Kazakhstan.
Dismissals and arrests of senior officials have increased recently in Kazakhstan, leading observers to suggest a power struggle has erupted in the ex-Soviet Central Asian country.
The most high-profile case was the arrest of Mukhtar Jakishev, former head of state nuclear firm Kazatomprom, accused of illegally taking over 60 percent of the country's uranium mines.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
DTN News: Kazakhstan Defense Minister Danial Akhmetov Fired By President Nursultan Nazarbayev
DTN News: Kazakhstan Defense Minister Danial Akhmetov Fired By President Nursultan Nazarbayev
*Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) ASTANA, Kazakhstan - June 18, 2009: Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev has fired his defense minister, the president's office said June 17, some two months after the arrest of another ministry official. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak walk past an honour guard in Astana on May 13, 2009. Lee Myung-bak is on a working visit expected to touch on oil and gas issues.
A brief statement gave no reason for the dismissal and said only Danial Akhmetov had been "relieved of his duties" by order of the president.
Akhmetov is a veteran politician in Kazakhstan and was prime minister from 2003-07 before taking up the post of defense minister.
The development comes two months after the arrest of a deputy defense minister in Kazakhstan.
The politician was accused of "abuse of power" over handing out contracts for the delivery of Israeli weapons to Kazakhstan.
Dismissals and arrests of senior officials have increased recently in Kazakhstan, leading observers to suggest a power struggle has erupted in the ex-Soviet Central Asian country.
The most high-profile case was the arrest of Mukhtar Jakishev, former head of state nuclear firm Kazatomprom, accused of illegally taking over 60 percent of the country's uranium mines.
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak walk past an honour guard in Astana on May 13, 2009. Lee Myung-bak is on a working visit expected to touch on oil and gas issues.
A brief statement gave no reason for the dismissal and said only Danial Akhmetov had been "relieved of his duties" by order of the president.
Akhmetov is a veteran politician in Kazakhstan and was prime minister from 2003-07 before taking up the post of defense minister.
The development comes two months after the arrest of a deputy defense minister in Kazakhstan.
The politician was accused of "abuse of power" over handing out contracts for the delivery of Israeli weapons to Kazakhstan.
Dismissals and arrests of senior officials have increased recently in Kazakhstan, leading observers to suggest a power struggle has erupted in the ex-Soviet Central Asian country.
The most high-profile case was the arrest of Mukhtar Jakishev, former head of state nuclear firm Kazatomprom, accused of illegally taking over 60 percent of the country's uranium mines.
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