Ömürbek Toktogulovich Babanov ( ky, Өмүрбек Токтогулович (Токтогул уулу) Бабанов, Ömürbek Toqtoghulovich (Toqtoghul uulu) Babanov, ; born 20 May 1970) is a

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

politician who served twice as the

Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan The chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan (russian: Председатель Кабинета министров Киргизской Республики; ky, Кыргыз Республикасынын Министрлер Каб ...

in 2011–12.

Political career

Before his appointment as Prime Minister, Babanov was Deputy Prime Minister in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Almazbek Atambayev Almazbek Sharshen uluu Atambayev ( ky, Алмазбек Шаршен уулу Атамбаев, translit=Almazbek Şarşen uulu Atambayev; born 17 September 1956) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 1 December 2 ...

. He was also acting Prime Minister from 23 September 2011 until 14 November 2011, as Prime Minister Atambayev was a candidate in the presidential election. He again became acting Prime Minister on 1 December 2011 when Atambayev took office as President. He was confirmed by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on 23 December 2011. On 1 September 2012 Babanov resigned as Prime Minister. Babanov participated in Kyrgyzstan's presidential election in 2017 as an independent. During a television debate, candidate

Sooronbay Jeenbekov Sooronbay Sharip uulu Jeenbekov (; ky, Сооронбай Шарип уулу Жээнбеков, translit=Sooronbay Şarip uulu Jeenbekov; born 16 November 1958) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the 5th President of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 unti ...

promised to imprison Babanov as part of a proposed fight against corruption. He came second to Jeenbekov with 33% of the vote.

Family and wealth

With an estimated wealth of $1.5 billion, he is one of the richest people in Kyrgyzstan. Babanov is half-

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

and half-Kyrgyz. His mother was from the Turkish Meskhetian minority group in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

; she was forcefully deported from

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...

to Kyrgyzstan during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Babanov's wife is Kazakh. His family's ethnic background were used to smear him during the 2017 election.

Controversy

On May 31, 2021, he was detained as part of an investigation involving the

Kumtor Gold Mine The Kumtor mine ( ky, Кумтөр, Kumtör) is one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia. The mine has been producing gold since 1997 and has produced over 13.8 million ounces of gold as of June 30, 2022. At 13,000 feet, the mine is the secon ...

References

, - 1970 births Living people Meskhetian Turkish people Soviet people of Turkish descent Kyrgyzstani people of Turkish descent Prime Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Respublika Party of Kyrgyzstan politicians People from Shymkent Kyrgyzstani billionaires Members of the Supreme Council (Kyrgyzstan) {{Kyrgyzstan-politician-stub