Kazakhstan’s president appoints a new prime minister to replace the one he dismissed

Kazakhstan’s president has appointed his chief of staff as the new prime minister a day after he dismissed the Central Asian nation’s government. A presidential decree announcing the Cabinet’s resignation Monday didn’t explain the reason for it. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had criticized the ministers last year and blamed the Cabinet for failing to stem inflation and improve the country’s aging infrastructure. Tokayev named chief of staff Olzhas Bektenov on Tuesday to replace Alikhan Smailov as prime minister. Smailov became prime minister in the wake of violent protests in January 2022 that left 225 people dead. It was the worst unrest since Kazakhstan gained independence following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.