Mukhtar Qapashuly Altynbayev (Kazakh

Kazakh language

Kazakh is a Turkic language which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages, closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak....

: Мұхтар Қапашұлы Алтынбаев) (born December 10, 1945 in Karaganda

Karaganda

Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...

, Kazakh SSR) served as the Minister of Defense and General of the Army of Kazakhstan

Military of Kazakhstan

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan , is the name of the unified armed forces of Kazakhstan...

 twice, most recently from December 2001 to 10 January 2007. Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan

-Chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars:*Viktor Radus-Zenkovich *Mukhamedkhafiy Murzagaliyev *Saken Seyfullin *Nygmet Nurmakov...

 Karim Massimov

Karim Massimov

Karim Qajymqanuly Massimov has served as Prime Minister in the Government of Kazakhstan since 10 January 2007.Massimov is fluent in Kazakh, Russian, Chinese, English, and Arabic. He studied in China and worked in Hong Kong where he headed Kazakhstan's trading operations. At the same time, he is...

 replaced him with former Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov

Daniyal Akhmetov

Daniyal Kenzhetayuly Akhmetov has served as the Minister of Defense and Gm/fr/neeneral of the Army of Kazakhstan since Prime Minister Karim Massimov appointed him on 10 January 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister from 13 June 2003 to 9 January 2007...

 in a political shakeup. Previously, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev

Nursultan Nazarbayev

Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...

 dismissed Altynbayev from his post as Defense Minister in August 1999 along with Nurtay Abikayev, the head of the National Security Committee

National Security Committee

The National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan is an intelligence agency in Kazakhstan. It was founded on 13 July 1992.-History:...

. According to Radio Free Europe

Radio Free Europe

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...

, they were dismissed for "failing to properly investigate" the illegal sale of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to...

 fighter aircraft

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 to North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

. In March 2000 he became commander of Kazakhstan's Air Defense Force.

2007 political shakeup

President Nazarbayev nominated Karim Massimov, who at the time served as Deputy Prime Minister, to succeed Daniyal Akhmetov as Prime Minister on 9 January 2007. Akhmetov resigned on 8 January without explanation. Analysts attributed Akhmetov's political downfall to the President's criticism of his administrative oversight of the economy

Economy of Kazakhstan

The economy of Kazakhstan is the largest economy in Central Asia. It possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves as well as minerals and metals. It also has considerable agricultural potential with its vast steppe lands accommodating both livestock and grain production, as well as developed space...

. The Parliament

Parliament of Kazakhstan

The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the bicameral legislature of Kazakhstan, according to the 1995 Constitution of Kazakhstan. The lower house is the Majilis, with 77 seats, elected to four year terms, 67 in single seat constituencies and 10 by proportional representation...

 confirmed the nomination on 10 January. Massimov appointed Akhmetov to Defense Minister, replacing Altynbayev, and appointed Aslan Musin

Aslan Musin

Aslan Mussin is the former Speaker of Majilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan. He has served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan since 10 January 2007. He previously served as Minister of Economy and Budget Planning of Kazakhstan from 4 October 2006 to 9 January 2007. Prior to that he...

, formerly the Minister of Economy and Budget, as Deputy Prime Minister.