Sultan Ibraimov

Sultan Ibraimovich Ibraimov Султан Ибраимович Ибраимов
File:Sultan Ibraimov.jpg
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kirgiz SSR
In office 22 December 1978 – 4 December 1980
Preceded by	Ahmatbek Suyumbaev
Succeeded by	Pyotr Hodos
Personal details
Born	(1927-09-20)20 September 1927 Alchaluu village, Chuy Region, Kirghiz SSR
Died	(1980-12-04)4 December 1980 (aged 53) Cholpon Ata, Issyk-Kul Region, Kirghiz SSR
Resting place	Ala-Archa Cementry in Bishkek
Nationality	Kyrgyz
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Children	Ainura, Gulmira, Elmira, Ermek, Aibek
Residence	Kyrgyz SSR
Alma mater	Tashkent Institute of Engineers of Irrigation and Agriculture Mechanization
Profession	Engineer

Sultan Ibraimovich Ibraimov (Kyrgyz/Russian: Султан Ибраимович Ибраимов, September 20, 1927 – December 4, 1980) was an administrator and politician in the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic. A long-time governor of Osh oblast, then comprising the entire southern part of present-day Kyrgyzstan, he rose to the position of Chairman of the Council of Ministers (the de facto Prime Minister) of the Kyrgyz SSR in 1978.

Assassination

He was assassinated on 4 December 1980 under circumstances that have never been fully explained. He was killed by two shots in the head in his own bed in the government residence in Cholpon-Ata on Lake Issyk-Kul. He was buried in Bishkek.

It was suspected that the KGB arranged his assassination on instructions from Turdakun Usubaliev, then the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic. Usubaliev was growing uncomfortable with Ibraimov's popularity and some support that Ibraimov might get in Moscow to replace him. Usubaliev is believed to have decided therefore to eliminate Ibraimov, at a time when the entire Soviet system was sinking deeply into corruption and it was easy to organise such an assassination by KGB operatives.

Legacy

Ibraimov continues to be held in high esteem in the country.

Eponyms

• Ibraimov Street, one of the central streets in Bishkek, renamed from Pravda Street in 1993.
• Osh Kyrgyz Drama Theater named after Sultan Ibraimov in 1996.
• Papan Reservoir named after Sultan Ibraimov.

Memorials

• Sultan Ibraimov's memorial near Osh Kyrgyz Drama Theater named after Sultan Ibraimov.

Books

• Book "Sultan Ibraimov" published by his daughter Gulnara Ibraimova

Relatives

He was married to Reva Kasymovna Teltaeva. They had three daughters, Ainura, Gulmira and Elmira, and two sons Ermek and Aibek.

One of the daughters, Elmira Sultanovna Ibraimova, became Deputy Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic in May 2008, but resigned from this position again in January 2009.

External links

• Kyrgyzstan: Heads of Government: 1946-1991
• New York Times (5 Dec. 1980): Sultan I. Ibraimov Is Dead at 53; Headed Soviet Kirghiz Republic