Murat Käribaiūly Bektanov ( kk, Мұрат Кәрібайұлы Бектанов, translit=Mūrat Kärıbaiūly Bektanov) is a Kazakh military leader and was the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

. He previously served as the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

and Commander-in-Chief of the

Kazakh Ground Forces The Kazakh Ground Forces (, ; ) is the land service branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is one of the three uniformed military services, and is the most senior branch of the Kazakh military in order of precedence. The mai ...

Early life and career

Born in the village of Sokolovka in

North Kazakhstan Region North Kazakhstan Region ( kk, Солтүстік Қазақстан облысы, translit=Soltüstık Qazaqstan oblysy; russian: Северо-Казахстанская область, translit=Severo-Kazakhstanskaya oblast) is a Regions of Kazak ...

, Bektanov graduated from the

Kiev Higher Combined Arms Command School Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

in the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. From 1989–1990, he commanded a motorized rifle platoon of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, he served as head of an intelligence unit of an airborne assault battalion. From 1993–1997, he was the commander of a platoon at the

Alma-Ata Higher All-Arms Command School Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...

. From 1997–1998, he was an officer in a combat training department of the

Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Қорғаныс министрлігі, ''Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Qorğanys ministrlıgı'') is a government agency of Kazakhstan wh ...

. Up until he studied at the Military Academy of the Armed Forces. From 2001–2005, he served as Head of the Operational Directorate and Training Department of the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

before studying at the Military Academy of the General Staff.

High posts

From 2013–2016, he was Commander of the Regional Command "East", and from 2016–2019, he was Commander-in-Chief of the

. In April 2019, he became

. During his work as the Chief of the General Staff, the Arys tragedy took place. Bektanov was considered as accountable to the incident by President

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...

and was given a formal strict reprimand in response.

Defence minister

On 31 August 2021, Bektanov became the Minister of Defence, succeeding

Nurlan Ermekbaev Nurlan (Baiuzakuly) Yermekbayev ( kk, Нұрлан Байұзақұлы Ермекбаев, ''Nūrlan Baiūzaqūly Ermekbaev'') is a Kazakh politician, diplomat and Lieutenant General of the Army who had been the Minister of Defense of Kazakhsta ...

following another tragic explosion in

Jambyl Region Jambyl or Zhambyl Region ( kk, Жамбыл облысы, translit=Jambyl oblysy; russian: Жамбылская область, Zhambylskaya oblast), formerly known as Dzhambul Region (russian: Джамбульская область, Dzhambulska ...

. On 11 January 2022 he was reappointed as the Minister of Defense in the

Smaiylov Cabinet The Smaiylov Cabinet is the 12th composition of the Government of Kazakhstan under the leadership of Prime Minister Alihan Smaiylov. It was formed after the previous government, led by Prime Minister Askar Mamin, was dismissed by President Kass ...

Firing and arrest

On 19 January 2022, he was relieved of the post and was replaced by

Ruslan Jaqsylyqov Ruslan Fatihūly Jaqsylyqov (: born 4 March 1966) is a Kazakh Colonel general serving as the Minister of Defence since 19 January 2022. Biography Early life and education Jaqsylyqov was born in the city of Kaskelen in Almaty Region. From 1 ...

. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev claimed Bektanov did not show good leadership during the 2022 Kazakh unrest. A month later, Bektanov was detained and placed under arrest on suspicion of official inaction during the state of emergency introduced in connection with mass protests.

Awards

Order of Glory Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 2nd degree (2014)

References