Ministry of Defense (Kazakhstan)
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a government agency of Kazakhstan which is the main executive body in implementing military policy. The Defense Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the head of the Ministry of Defense, whose duties are to exercise the administrative leadership of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The ministry was established in May 1992 and is currently headed by Nurlan Ermekbaev. The first Minister of Defense was Army General Sagadat Nurmagambetov who served from May 1992 to October 16, 1995.
Functions
The Ministry of Defense conducts the following tasks:- Implements the state defense policy, military-political and military-economic management of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- To act as the headquarters of the armed forces
- To carry out its activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- To serve as a legal entity in the organizational and legal form of a state institution
- Makes decisions drawn up by orders and directives of the Minister of Defense and Kazakh Government
General Staff
Organization
Organization as of 2020:- General Directorate of Physical Training
- General Directorate of Informatization and Telecommunications
- General Directorate of Public Procurement
- Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense
- Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces
- Management of the commanders of troops and combat arms
- Central Command Post
- Arms Reduction Control Center
- Center for Metrological Support
- Pension Center
- Central Army Sports Club
- Center for Military Space Programs
- Center for Military Representatives
- Administrative Department
- Department of International Cooperation
- Department of Combat Training
- Department of Economics and Finance
- Department of Personnel and Military Education
- Department of Organizational and Mobilization work
- Department of Information and Communication
- Department of Planning and cooperation
- Department of Educational and Ideological Work
- Legal Department
- Department of Military-Technical Policy
- Department of Military Science and Innovation
- Main Financial Inspectorate
- Main Inspectorate
- General Directorate of Safety Oversight
- General Directorate of the Cantonment of Troops
- General Directorate of Communications
- General Directorate of Special Forces
- General Directorate of Territorial Defense
- Main Directorate of the Military Police
- General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets and Information Security
- Main Military Medical Directorate
- Military Police
- Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces
- Office of the Chief of Logistics and Arms
- Office for work with sergeants
- Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy
- Aviation Training Center
- Kazakhstan GIS Center
- Kazspetsexport
- Honor Guard Company of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan
- Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan
- Cadet Corps
Units and organizations
Military Police
The Military Police of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan is the military police branch of the Defence Ministry. It consists of special military units that are organizationally part of the armed forces as well as other security agencies to ensure the enforcement of law and order.Honour guard and band
The honour guard company and band are the main military units subordinate to the ministry and one of the senior ceremonial units in the country. The company is officially part of the 36th Air Assault Brigade of the Kazakh Airmobile Forces and is composed of personnel from the Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force. Colonel Alexander Belyakov was the original director of the band in November 1995 after he was commissioned to lead the massed bands by General Nurmagambetov in the Victory Day Parade on Almaty's Republic Square that May. In 2012, the band was relocated from Almaty to the capital of Astana.''Sarbazy'' Gazette
The Central Press Service of the Ministry of Defense operates the Sarbazy Gazette. It was created with the Qysl әsker military newspaper of the Kazakh Military Commissariat. It appeared once a week in the Latin script of the Kazakh language. On 1 November 1969, a newspaper called The Battle Banner began to appear in Alma-Ata. Since each district at that time had its own printed organ, the Central Asian Military District had direct control over the newspaper. In May 1989, the publication was discontinued due to the abolition of the district, and the editorial office was disbanded. Between 1989 and 1992, the Armed Forces explored the idea of recreating a newspaper. The first issue was released on 16 December 1992 in both the Kazakh and Russian languages.Center for Military Medicine
The Center for Military Medicine consists of 76 employees, experts, and doctors. The history of the center of military medicine, which has no analogues in Central Asia, began on 1 November 1969, when the forensic laboratory of the Central Asian Military District was established. After Kazakhstan gained independence, it was renamed the Central Medical Laboratory of the Ministry of Defense. In 2010, the institution received its current name. Since 2011, it included an internship of the medical staff of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan. The medical center provides education in the field of military medicine and is responsible for organizational and educational work in the field of advanced training and course training. The teaching staff is involved in training peacekeepers for United Nations missions. It is attached to the Main Military Medical Directorate of the Ministry of Defence.Central Army Sports Club
The Central Army Sports Club is a Kazakh sports club based in Almaty. 9 athletes from the club were included in the national team at the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty, competing in biathlon, cross-country skiing and ice hockey. In July 2019, club member Sergey Tsyrulnikov, a four-time Guinness record holder, broke a record by using only one hand to nail frying pans and into wooden planks in just under 2 minutes.Cadet Corps
The Cadet Corps of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan named after Shoqan Walikhanov is an institution of the ministry that was formed on 1 July 1996 as a secondary school that prepared Kazakh youth for service in the military and for leadership as junior army, navy, and air force commanders. A similar task is done today by the Astana Zhas Ulan Republican School. A month after its formation, the corps had 96 enlisted cadets, most of whom came from the Alma-Ata Higher All-Arms Command School. On its first graduation day on July 29, 1999, where 11 cadets graduated from the corps and enrolled in higher educational institutions, the corps received its own battle flag by the then head of the corps, Colonel Kuangaliev and defense minister Mukhtar Altynbayev. The corps is currently based in the city of Shchuchinsk in the Akmola Region.Kazspetsexport
Kazspetsexport is a state company funded and controlled by the Ministry of Defence of Kazakhstan. In January 2012, Airbus Military signed a firm contract with Kazspetsexport to supply two EADS CASA C-295 military transport aircraft plus the related service support package for spare parts and ground support equipment.List of Defence Ministers of Kazakhstan
- Sagadat Nurmagambetov, May 1992 – 16 October 1995,
- Alybek Kasimov, 16 October 1995 – 30 October 1996,
- Mukhtar Altynbayev, 30 October 1996 – 9 August 1999,
- vacant from 9 August to 13 October 1999,
- Sat Tokpakbayev, 13 October 1999 – 8 December 2001
- Mukhtar Altynbayev, 8 December 2001 – 10 January 2007
- Daniyal Akhmetov, 10 January 2007 – 24 June 2009
- Adilbek Zhaksybekov, 24 June 2009 – 3 April 2014
- Serik Akhmetov, 3 April – 22 October 2014
- Imangali Tasmagambetov, 22 October 2014 – 13 September 2016
- Saken Zhasuzakov 13 September 2016 – 7 August 2018
- Nurlan Ermekbaev since 7 August 2018
Awards