Early life and education

Smaiylov was born in the city of Alma-Ata (now Almaty) in the Kazakh SSR. In 1994, he graduated from the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University with a degree in applied mathematics and then in 1996, from the KIMEP University where he earned master's degree in public administration.^[4]

Career

In 1993, he became an employee of the A-Invest Investment and Privatization Fund. From 1995, Smaiylov was the chief specialist of the Trade and Industry Department of the Almaty City Administration. In 1996, he served as the trainee of the Supreme Economic Council under the President of Kazakhstan. From August 1996 to February 1998, Smaiylov was the deputy head and then the head of Department of the National Statistical Agency of Kazakhstan.^[4]

In 1998, he was the deputy chairman of the Committee on Statistics and Analysis of the Agency for Statistical Planning and Reforms of Kazakhstan. From 1998 to 1999, Smaiylov served as the chief expert, head of the sector of the department, state inspector of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan. From August to November 1999, Smaiylov was the state inspector of the Organizational and Control Department of the Presidential Administration. That same year, he became the chairman of the Agency of Kazakhstan on Statistics.^[4]

In 2003, Smaiylov was appointed as the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs until he became the chairman of the Board of the Joint Stock Company State Insurance Company for Insurance of Export Credits and Investments. In February 2006, he was appointed as the Vice Minister of Finance until January 2007, when he became the president of JSC National Holding Kazagro. On 21 November 2008, Smaiylov was reappointed as the Vice Minister of Finance. From 27 October 2009, Smaiylov served the chairman of the Agency of Kazakhstan on Statistics again until August 2014, when he became the chairman of the Committee on Statistics.^[4][5]

On 11 December 2015, Smaiylov was appointed as the Assistant to the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.^[6] He served that position until 18 September 2018, when he became the Minister of Finance under Prime Minister Bakhytjan Sagintayev.^[7][8]

On 25 February 2019, he became the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan in Mamin Government.^[9] At the same time, Smaiylov served as the Minister of Finance until 18 May 2020, when he was replaced by Erulan Jamaubaev.^[10] From 27 May 2020, Smaiylov is the representative of Kazakhstan in the Eurasian Economic Commission.

On 19 January 2023, Älihan Smailov was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna.^[11]

Tenure

Following the outbreak of 2022 Kazakh unrest, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed Smaiylov as the acting prime minister of Kazakhstan on 5 January 2022, in response to the resignation of his predecessor Asqar Mamin and his government.^[12][13] According to Joanna Lillis from Eurasianet, Smaiylov along with other ministers is a technocrat with role in "carrying the baggage" of a "tainted cabinet" and that his appointment as the head of government would provide more clues in Tokayev's future policies.^[14]

Domestic policy

Socioeconomic policies

On 18 January 2022, the government approved the Plan of Operational Actions to Stabilize the Socio-Economic Situation following the January Events. The action plan included 51 measures to restore public order, rebuild infrastructure, support social issues, prevent price hikes, and aid businesses. Key actions involve increasing security, compensating affected workers, and supporting the families of victims. Measures also include debt relief, housing aid, stabilizing the foreign exchange market, and delaying tax inspections.^[28] Smaiylov emphasized the plan's focus on increasing citizens' incomes and reducing youth unemployment, with strict oversight by state officials to ensure effective implementation.^[29]

In March 2022, the Program to Increase Incomes of the Population until 2025 was adopted, aimed at improving citizens' well-being and updating social and labour policies by boosting employment in industry and entrepreneurship through the creation of new industrial clusters, financial support for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and fostering SME development around large enterprises; in the agricultural sector, it includes measures to establish households, implement investment projects, and expand microcredit mechanisms, with the overall goal of reducing the share of the population earning below the subsistence level, reducing unemployment, and creating about 2 million new jobs by 2025.^[30]