Oljas Bektenov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oljas Bektenov
Олжас Бектенов
Bektenov in 2024
12th Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 January 2025
President	Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
First Deputy	Roman Sklyar
Preceded by	Oljas Bektenov
Acting Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
In office 6 February 2024 – 17 January 2025
President	Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Preceded by	Älihan Smaiylov
Succeeded by	Oljas Bektenov
Aqorda Chief of Staff
In office 3 April 2023 – 6 February 2024
President	Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
First Deputy	Timur Suleimenov
Preceded by	Murat Nurtleu
Succeeded by	Aibek Dädebaev
Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Agency
In office 25 February 2022 – 3 April 2023
President	Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Preceded by	Marat Ahmetjanov
Succeeded by	Ashat Jumağali
Personal details
Born	(1980-12-13) 13 December 1980 (age 44) Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Kazakh
Political party	Amanat
Children	3
Alma mater	Kazakh State Law Academy

Oljas Abaiūly Bektenov (Kazakh: Олжас Абайұлы Бектенов; born 13 December 1980) is a politician from Kazakhstan. He has been the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan since 2024. Before becoming Prime Minister, Bektenov worked in different important roles. These included being the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency from 2022 to 2023. He also served as the Chief of Staff for the President.

Early Life and Education

Oljas Bektenov was born in Alma-Ata, which is now known as Almaty. This city was part of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic at the time.

In 2001, he graduated with high honors from the Kazakh State Law Academy. This school is now called KAZGUU University. He earned a degree in law. Later, he continued his studies and received a special degree in law. His research focused on how to prevent young people from breaking administrative rules in Kazakhstan.

Early Career in Government

Bektenov has held many important leadership jobs throughout his career. He started working at the Department of Justice in Almaty from 2002 to 2005. After that, he became an expert in the legal department for the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 2005 to 2006.

In the years that followed, Bektenov took on key roles in the Kazakh government. He worked in the Presidential Administration under President Nursultan Nazarbayev from 2006 to 2009. From 2009 to 2012, he was a deputy chairman at the Ministry of Justice.

Later, Bektenov was given the job of fighting corruption in Kazakhstan. He led a department at the Agency for Combating Economic and Corruption Crimes from 2012 to 2014. He also served as the Chief of Staff for the city of Astana starting in July 2015. After that, he became the head of the Secretariat for the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration.

Leading the Anti-Corruption Agency

Bektenov as an Antikor official during a parliamentary meeting in February 2020

On 1 June 2018, Bektenov was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs and Anti-Corruption. He held this position for about a year. On 26 June 2019, he became the First Deputy Chairman.

As First Deputy Chairman, Bektenov stressed how important it was for the Antikor to help business owners. He also talked about the need to solve social problems in different areas. He believed that the results of their work should help both citizens and businesses.

On 25 February 2022, Bektenov became the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Agency. This happened after some unrest in January 2022. Under Bektenov's leadership, Antikor looked into financial dealings of people connected to former President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

During Bektenov's time as leader, Antikor worked on many important corruption cases. These cases included looking into inflated costs for vehicle recycling and issues with budget planning. They also uncovered illegal car registrations that caused a lot of financial damage to the state.

In December 2022, Bektenov met with the director of the French Anti-Corruption Agency in Paris. They signed an agreement to work together to prevent and fight corruption.

Under Bektenov's leadership, more than 100 employees within Antikor faced disciplinary action because of corruption issues. Assets worth a lot of money were recovered. These funds were then used to build kindergartens and schools in Kazakhstan. The agency also looked at corruption risks in large state-owned companies. This led to finding problems and starting criminal cases. Bektenov also created a "Corruption Risks Map" to show areas needing more attention. A project called "Bizneske Jol" was started to help businesses. Also, a new law about "Illegal Enrichment" was passed. This law made it harder for people convicted of serious corruption to get out of prison early.

Role in Tokayev's Administration

On 3 April 2023, Bektenov became the Chief of Staff for the Presidential Administration under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In this role, he worked to make the administration more efficient. He did this by combining departments that did similar work. He also created new assistant positions to focus on key areas like the economy and foreign policy.

Bektenov also helped the government to make decisions about economic plans and regional development more easily. This meant they didn't always need approval from the President's office for every small change.

Becoming Prime Minister of Kazakhstan

Oljas Bektenov and Vladimir Putin in Astana, 3 July 2024

After the previous government resigned, the main political party, Amanat, supported Bektenov for the role of Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. This happened on 6 February 2024. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev officially nominated Bektenov. The Mäjilis, which is part of the parliament, approved his nomination on the same day. This made him the new Prime Minister, leading the new government. He was the first person with a background in security services to become prime minister in independent Kazakhstan.

After being approved, Bektenov spoke to the members of parliament. He promised to focus on helping businesses in Kazakhstan, especially in farming. He also said he would improve roads and other important structures. He also pledged to cut unnecessary costs.

Soon after taking office, Bektenov stated that his government would take "decisive action." This meant working hard to increase economic growth, make the economy more diverse, and attract new investments. He told his ministers to work independently and quickly solve problems in their areas. He emphasized that the government would work at a fast pace and have high expectations.

One of the first big challenges for the Bektenov Government was the 2024 Central Asian floods. These floods affected 10 different regions in Kazakhstan. Because of this, Kanat Bozumbayev was appointed as a deputy prime minister to help with the situation.

Personal Life

Oljas Bektenov is married and has three children. The names of his family members are not publicly known.

See also

In Spanish: Olzhas Bektenov para niños