Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has dismissed Prime Minister Karim Masimov and appointed him chairman of the Committee for National Security.
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The move comes after a rare wave of protests over new laws on land ownership and a shootout between police and gunmen in the city of Aktobe rattled Kazakhstan’s authoritarian government earlier this year.
The statement released by the president’s office on Thursday said a deputy prime minister has been named acting prime minister.
Nazarbayev, a 76-year-old who has ruled Kazakhstan since 1989, has vowed to revive economic growth by selling government assets, overhauling state institutions and fighting corruption to avoid a “real crisis”, Bloomberg reports.
Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter, Dariga, is a deputy prime minister and a promotion would identify her as heir apparent.
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Despite the uncertainty about the new premier, Kazakhstan’s dollar-bonds rose after the announcement, with longer-dated debt hitting record highs. He has also worked as Nazarbayev’s chief of staff.
