Tokayev reappoints defense and interior ministers

September 3, 2026 at 09:09 AM2 min

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Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reappointed Dauren Kosanov as defense minister and Yerzhan Sadenov as interior minister on September 3, 2026. The decrees were announced by the presidential press service Akorda.

Key Facts

Dauren Kosanov was appointed defense minister by presidential decree on September 3, 2026.
Yerzhan Sadenov was appointed interior minister by a separate presidential decree on the same day.
Kosanov previously served as defense minister from June 8, 2025, and as deputy defense minister from September 2024.
Sadenov has held the interior minister post since September 2023.
The appointments follow the resignation of the Kazakh government at the start of the Kurultai, according to Sputnik Kazakhstan.

Presidential Decrees

Akorda announced that President Tokayev signed decrees reappointing Dauren Kosanov as defense minister and Yerzhan Sadenov as interior minister. The decree on Kosanov states: "By decree of the Head of State, Dauren Zhumataevich Kosanov has been appointed Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan." A separate decree appointed Sadenov: "By decree of the Head of State, Yerzhan Saparbekovich Sadenov has been appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan."

Defense Minister Background

Dauren Kosanov was born on October 14, 1969, in Novotroitskoye village, Krasnokutsk district, Pavlodar region. He graduated from the Armavir Higher Military Aviation School for Pilots in 1990, the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy in 2005, and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 2013. Kosanov served as a fighter pilot in the Usharal fighter regiment and later commanded air bases in Taldykorgan and Shymkent. From December 2022 to September 2024, he was commander-in-chief of the Air Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan. He held the rank of lieutenant general of aviation as of June 5, 2024.

Interior Minister Background

Yerzhan Sadenov was born in 1968 in East Kazakhstan region. He graduated from East Kazakhstan State University named after S. Amanzholov and the Karaganda Higher School of the National Security Committee. Sadenov began his career in 1993 as an operative in the criminal investigation department of the East Kazakhstan regional police. He served as deputy interior minister from 2022 to 2023 and was appointed interior minister in September 2023.