Omurbek Tekebayev

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Omurbek Tekebayev (Russian: Омурбек Текебаев) is a Kyrgyz politician and the current speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament, elected in March 2005.

Tekebayev was previously a leading opposition figure to the government of president Askar Akayev, which had ruled Kyrgyzstan since its independence in the early 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Tekebayev ran for the presidency in the 2000 elections, coming in a distant second to Akayev with 14% of the vote; however, opposition leaders widely alleged electoral fraud.

In March 2005, Tekebayev became speaker following the 2005 parliamentary elections. In the turmoil that followed, Akayev was forced to flee the country, and an interim government headed by President Kurmanbek Bakiev claimed power (see Kyrgyz revolution of 2005). Tekebayev emerged as an important figure in the transitional chaos, both due to his constitutional role as head of parliament, and due to the fact that while Akayev refused to recognize Bakiev's authority as interim president, he did recognize Tekebayev's authority as Speaker of Parliament, and indicated a willingness to negotiate with him. As of late March 2005, negotiations were planned but had not yet taken place.

Tekebayev announced his resignation as speaker of parliament after a political conflict with president Bakiev in February 2006.

On 6 September 2006, heroin was found in Tekebayev's luggage during a trip to Poland, in an incident generally regarded as an attempted frame.^[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ International Crisis Group (2006-11-10). Kyrgyzstan on the edge.