Zofa Kachunyeva

*This name uses Borgiz naming customs; the patronymic is* Nürsultan ķiza, *while the family name is* Kachunyeva.

**Zofa Nürsultan ķiza Kachunyeva** (Borgiz: *Зофа Нүрсултан қиза Качуньева*, Kashan: *Зофа Нурсултанинна Качуньева*; born 17 January 1957) is a Borgizstani politician and economist who has served as the President of Borgizstan since 2014. She is the first Borgiz woman to serve as president. Kachunyeva is additionally the founder and leader of the Alliance Party of Borgizstan, and served as Minister of Finance from 2010 to 2012, also being the first woman to hold that post.

Born in Zhastany to a working-class family, Kachunyeva moved to Zakarina after finishing high school to attend Zakarina State University, graduating with a degree in economics in 1979. She briefly worked as a bookkeeper until marrying in 1981, and subsequently leaving her employment to be a housewife and mother. She returned to the workforce in 1998, finding employment at the Ministry of Finance in Kasha as an adviser on economic policy. Kachunyeva returned to Zhastany with her husband in 2003, and became a senior economic policy adviser for the Borgizstani Ministry of Finance.

In 2010, Kachunyeva was appointed by Chingiz Altundev to serve as Minister of Finance, becoming the first woman to serve in this position. In 2012, reports of friction between Kachunyeva and Altundev regarding policy decisions began to arise in the Borgizstani press. The reports culminated in Kachunyeva announcing her immediate resignation on 18 December 2012. The following year, Kachunyeva founded the Alliance Party of Borgizstan, and announced her intention to stand in the 2014 presidential election to challenge Altundev. She ultimately placed second in the first round, advancing to the run-off where she defeated Altundev in a close race, winning 50.9% of the vote. Following her inauguration, Kachunyeva became the first woman to serve as president in Borgizstani history. She was reelected to a second term in the 2019 election, winning 51.4% of the vote in the first round.

As the founder of the Alliance Party, Kachunyeva has described herself and her party as prioritizing liberalism, secularism, support for the middle-class, and a close working relationship with Kasha.

## Early life and family

Kachunyeva was born on 17 January 1957 in Zhastany to parents Nürsultan Kachunyev (1930–2003) and Asha Alinbekova (1931–2017). Her father worked as an auto-mechanic, while her mother was a receptionist for an architecture firm. Kachunyeva comes from an ethnic Borgiz family, and was raised a Eurean Muslim speaking the Borgiz language. She is the eldest of four children; her younger siblings are Didiya, born  (1960-06-01) 1 June 1960 (age 63), Artem, born  (1962-08-28) 28 August 1962 (age 61), and Gürana, born  (1965-07-16) 16 July 1965 (age 58).

## Education and early career

Kachunyeva began her education in 1963, attending a local public primary school in Zhastany. In primary school, Kachunyeva was a gifted student who excelled in mathematics and science. She has recalled aspiring to become an astronaut or engineer when she was a child, but was told that those were not jobs that women should pursue. Kachunyeva graduated from primary school in 1969, afterwards enrolling in the Zhastany School of Mathematics, a selective public secondary school. In secondary school, Kachunyeva was one of only five girls in her class, but has said that her male classmates had high levels of respect for her and her female peers.

Kachunyeva graduated from secondary school in 1975, afterwards moving to Zakarina to enroll in the Faculty of Economics at Zakarina State University. Kachunyeva graduated with her bachelor's degree in economics in 1979, subsequently finding employment as a bookkeeper for a local discotheque, where she was given extra compensation in the form of free entry and drinks for her and her friends. Kachunyeva resigned from the position in 1981, following her marriage, as she decided to prioritize motherhood and becoming a housewife.

After seventeen years of being a housewife, Kachunyeva was persuaded to return to the workforce in 1998, by her friends and children. After several part-time bookkeeping gigs, she was given as a position as an adviser on economic policy at the Ministry of Finance, after having been recommended by a friend of her husband who worked in a senior position at the Ministry. Kachunyeva remained at the Ministry for five years, until she returned to Zhastany to care for her mother after the death of her father in 2003. In Zhastany, Kachunyeva began working as a senior adviser on economic policy at the Borgizstani Ministry of Finance.

## Political career

In 2010, Kachunyeva was appointed by Chingiz Altundev to serve as Minister of Finance, becoming the first woman to serve in this position. In 2012, reports of friction between Kachunyeva and Altundev regarding policy decisions began to arise in the Borgizstani press. The reports culminated in Kachunyeva announcing her immediate resignation on 18 December 2012.

The following year, Kachunyeva founded the Alliance Party of Borgizstan, and announced her intention to stand in the 2014 presidential election to challenge Altundev. She ultimately placed second in the first round, advancing to the run-off where she defeated Altundev in a close race, winning 50.9% of the vote. Following her inauguration, Kachunyeva became the first woman to serve as president in Borgizstani history. She was reelected to a second term in the 2019 election, winning 51.4% of the vote in the first round.

## Personal life

Kachunyeva began a relationship with Kashan lawyer Nikolai Mamadurin in 1979. They became engaged after one year of dating, and later married in 1981. Kachunyeva and Mamadurin have three children together: Svetlana, born  (1982-10-28) 28 October 1982 (age 41), Greta, born  (1985-07-01) 1 July 1985 (age 38), and David, born  (1987-08-22) 22 August 1987 (age 36). Kachunyeva was raised a Eurean Muslim, but has since left the faith, identifying herself as "irreligious but spiritual."

Kachunyeva is fluent in Borgiz, Kashan, and English, and the family owns homes in Zhastany, Nastana, and Zakarina. Since 2014, Kachunyeva and Mamadurin have resided in the Presidential Palace in Zhastany. She is a dual citizen of Borgizstan and Kasha, having received citizenship to both countries following their respective declarations of independence, due to her birthplace and country of residence at the time of independence, respectively.