Mäulen Äşimbaev

Born in Alma-Ata in 1971, Äşimbaev graduated from the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University with a degree in economics and was a professor in Political Economy. In 2001, he earned a candidate in Political Sciences with his thesis “Political Transit in Kazakhstan in the Context of Global Democratization Processes”.[1] In 2003, Äşimbaev studied at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he earned a scientific internship. From 2015 to 2016, he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of the Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, earning a master's degree in International Relations.

From 1993 to 1994, Äşimbaev worked in the system of the Ministry of Press and Mass Media. In 1994, he became the Assistant to the Deputy of the Supreme Council From June to November 1995, Äşimbaev was the consultant to the Apparatus of the Security Council. From 1995 to 1999, he was a senior expert, sector manager, First Deputy Head of the Center for Analysis and Strategic Studies of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan. In 1999, Äşimbaev became the Head of the Analytical Center of the Security Council of Kazakhstan. In 2002, he became the Director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan. In May 2005, Äşimbaev was Deputy Secretary of the Security Council. In 13 April 2006, he became the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan.[2]

In the 2012 Kazakh legislative election, Äşimbaev was elected as the member of the Mazhilis as Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense and Security. He was reelected again in 2016 and served as the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security.[3]

On 4 May 2020, Äşimbaev was appointed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to succeed Dariga Nazarbayeva as the Chair of the Senate of Kazakhstan and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.[4][5]