Engels Gabbasuly Gabbasov (, ''Engels Ğabbasūly Ğabbasov''; 17 January 1937 – 11 July 2014) was a Kazakh politician and writer who was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for West Kazakhstan Region from 1995 to 1999. Prior to that, he was a member of the Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan from 1994 to 1995. Gabbasov was a candidate in the

1999 Kazakh presidential election Presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan on 10 January 1999. Incumbent president Nursultan Nazarbayev won the election with over 80% of the vote, and was sworn into office on 20 January 1999. Most observers viewed the election as blatan ...

for the People's Union of Kazakhstan Unity.

Early life and education

Gabbasov was born in 1937 in the village of Furmanova (now Jalpaqtal) in a family of six children. In 1957, he graduated from the West Kazakhstan State University in Oral with a degree in Russian language and literature then in 1966, he graduated from the Higher Party School with a degree in journalism. In 1976, Gabbasov completed his postgraduate studies at the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union in the direction of criticism and literary criticism. That same year, he earned candidacy in philology with his dissertation topic: ''"The artistic concept of personality in a modern historical-revolutionary novel".''

Career

Gabbasov began his career as a teacher and the head of the Department of the Regional Library in 1957. From 1966 to 1973, he worked as an instructor and the head of the Political Education House of the Oral Regional Party Committee. In 1976, Gabbasov became the head of the lecturer group of the Regional Party Committee. From 1988 to 1991, he served as rector of the University of Marxism-Leninism under the Regional Party Committee until he became the referent and the head of Department of the West Kazakhstan Regional Council. In 1993, Gabbasov was appointed as the head of the Department of the West Kazakhstan Regional Administration. In 1994, he was elected as a member of the Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan. From there, he was a member of the Committee on Culture, Press, Mass Media and Public Associations. On 5 December 1995, Gabbasov was then elected as one of the first Senators for West Kazakhstan Region where he was member of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense and Security.

1999 presidential campaign

On 22 October 1998, while serving as a Senator, Gabbasov launched his bid for presidency for the People's Union of Kazakhstan Unity. On 30 November 1998, he was registered by the

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

as a candidate. Although Gabbasov had no rallies and only gave a limited amount of press interviews, he maintained a strong support mostly from rural areas. Gabbasov ran on campaign mostly on environmental issues such as proposing to close the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...

, claiming that it was harming the environment, as well as eliminate public health hazards and boost economic reforms. He also promised to create flexible system of farm subsidies and grant tax privileges to agricultural workers, as well as benefits for women with many children, continue in providing free secondary education and vocational training for young people and maintain free healthcare. At the same time, Gabbasov avoided in criticizing President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Gabbasov also favored for closer economic ties with Russia and the

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

. He received 0.77% of the votes in the election, placing him in last place among other candidates.

Later life and death

After retiring from politics in 1999, Gabbasov continued enjoying his creative hobbies. In his last years, he felt very ill and eventually died on 11 July 2014 in his hometown of Oral at the age of 78 which his death only confirmed almost week later.

Bibliography

Member of the Writers' Union of Kazakhstan, Gabbasov is the author of ten collections of novellas and short stories: * Free horse for the dzhigit (Свободная лошадь для джигита, 1969) * One tree for the whole steppe (Одно дерево на всю степь, 1976) * That summer and this winter (В то лето и эту зиму, 1980, 1988) * Green leaf in the snow (Зеленый лист на снегу, 1982) * Little boy and two men (Маленький мальчик и двое мужчин, 1983) * Love story (История любви, 1984) * There are no unforeseen barriers (Нет непредвиденных преград, 1989)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabbasov, Engels 1937 births 2014 deaths Kazakhstani male writers Members of the Senate of Kazakhstan People from West Kazakhstan Region