Imangali Nurgaliuly Tasmagambetov (, İmаnğаli Nūrğаliūly Таsmаğаmbеtоv, ; born 9 December 1956) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat, who is the current Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization since January 2023. He was the Kazakh Ambassador to Russia from 2017 to 2019. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 2016 to 2017 and Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan from 2014 to 2016. He was the akim of Astana from 2008 to 2014 and from 2004 to 2008, as akim of Almaty. Before that, from 2002 to 2003, he was the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. Tasmagambetov stated that he resigned as PM after finding out about the falsification of a positive vote of confidence in his administration that was taken on 19 May 2003. His resignation resulted in the dismissal of all members of his cabinet, as required by the Constitution of Kazakhstan. President Nursultan Nazarbayev replaced Tasmagambetov with Pavlodar Region Akim Daniyal Akhmetov on 13 June 2003. Akhmetov pledged to maintain many of Tasmagambetov's policies. Tasmagambetov has been appointed as head of KazakhGolf Federation on May 18, 2022. Early life and career Tasmagambetov was born in the village of Novobogat in Atyrau Region to Nurgali Tasmagambetov (1926–1997) and Dilda Qoqanova (1930–2019). In 1979, he graduated from the natural-geographical faculty of the West Kazakhstan State University, specializing in "teacher of geography and biology." In 1990, Tasmagambetov earned Ph.D in philosophy in his thesis "World outlook aspects of ecological problems". In 1997, he earned doctorate in political science in his dissertation “Social Policy in Transit Political Systems”. Tasmagambetov began his career in 1973 as a boxing and wrestling trainer at a Children's and Youth Sports School in the village of Makhambet. After graduating, he worked as a teacher of geography and biology at the Makhambet Secondary School. Early political career In 1989, Tasmagambetov was elected as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol in Kazakh SSR. In 1991, he became a chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Youth Affairs. From 1993 to 1995, Tasmagambetov worked as an assistant to the President of Kazakhstan. On 13 March 1995, he became the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and from 17 March 1997, he served as the Minister of Education and Culture. That same year, Tasmagambetov was appointed as the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan and the head of the Organizational and