Baygaraev resigns as President Tokayev’s spokesperson after being in office for five days

Nurmukhamed Baygaraev has resigned from his position as the official spokesperson for President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for health reasons. He was in office for five days.

What happened? Baygaraev wrote about the dismissal on his Facebook page. He said that his health had deteriorated, and an examination showed a disease that required long-term treatment. He was also banned from flying on an airplane.

The latter requirement interfered with his work since he was supposed to be able to travel along with the president.

As Baygaraev noted, it was a surprise even for himself as he planned to make the work of the spokesperson for the president «more open.»

On September 6, Tokayev appointed Baygaraev as his press secretary. Previously, this position was held by Ruslan Zheldibay, who is now an aid to the president for internal policy and communications.

What do we know about Baygaraev? In 2017, Nurmukhamed Baygaraev received a master’s degree from Lancaster University in the UK (MSc in Project Management) under the national program Bolashaq.

In 2019, Baygaraev became editor-in-chief of the republican newspaper Aiqyn. Before this appointment, Baygaraev worked as deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper Egemen Kazakhstan. He was also an advisor to the general director of Kazakh Radiolary LLP.