Aygül Jeenbekova (; (Токоева); born 1968) was the

first lady of Kyrgyzstan First Lady () or First Gentleman of Kyrgyzstan is the title attributed to the spouse of the president of Kyrgyzstan. The current first lady is Aigul Japarova, the wife of President Sadyr Japarov. To date, there has been no official first gentlema ...

from 2017 to 2020 as the wife of President

Sooronbay Jeenbekov Sooronbay Sharip uulu Jeenbekov (born 16 November 1958) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the fifth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 until his resignation in 2020, following a week of protests. Prior to that he served as the Prime Minist ...

Biography

Jeenbekova was born and raised in the village of Birinchi Kara-Kulja District of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Osh Region Osh is a Regions of Kyrgyzstan, region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded (clockwise) by Jalal-Abad Region, Naryn Region, China (Xinjiang), Tajikistan (Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction ...

. She studied at the School named after the

23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) took place in Moscow, RSFSR between 29 March and 8 April 1966. It was the first Congress during Leonid Brezhnev's leadership of the Party and state. The position of First Secret ...

(now the Azybek Yusupov School). Her father Toko Kultumushev worked in the district consumer society. Although her family lived in prosperity and well-being, her father died when she was still in her youth, leaving her mother Sylan, raise her through her childhood, which in effect, thought Jeenbekova the idea of hard work. She first became acquainted with

in 1983, when he was at the time, a chief livestock specialist of the Soviet farm in the Osh region. Jeenbekov saw her once when he passed through her village and asked a saleswoman for her address. Not long after they met, Jeenvekov moved into her husband's house and received a blessing from his parents. They moved around 12 years later to the Kyrgyz capital of

Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

when Jeenbekov Deputy of the Assembly of People's Representatives. She officially became the

First Lady of Kyrgyzstan First Lady () or First Gentleman of Kyrgyzstan is the title attributed to the spouse of the president of Kyrgyzstan. The current first lady is Aigul Japarova, the wife of President Sadyr Japarov. To date, there has been no official first gentlema ...

on 24 November 2017, succeeding

Almazbek Atambayev Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev (born 17 September 1956) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the fourth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2011 to 2017. He previously served as the 11th prime minister of Kyrgyzstan from 2010 to 2011, and from ...

's wife Raisa.

Personal and public life

Jeenbekova is eldest in her family, having 5 younger sisters and 3 brothers. She has 3 children with her husband. The eldest daughter Baktygul is married and graduated from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, while the youngest son Iman is in the 4th grade. Like most Kyrgyzstanis, she is conversant in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

as well as Kyrgyz. In the year since she became first lady, she has been known only for her rare appearances to the public. Her first public photo with her husband was during the New Years celebrations on 31 December 2017. She was also, according to MP Irina Karamushkina, seen celebrating former first lady

Raisa Atambayeva Raisa Minakhmedovna Atambayeva (Russian language, Russian: Раиса Минахмедовна Атамбаева; born 25 June 1959) is the wife of the former President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev and First Lady of Kyrgyzstan from 2011 to 20 ...

's 60th birthday at Atambayeva's residence in late June of the year. In September 2018, she took part in a number of events, most notably receiving Emine Erdogan, wife of Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

, at the

2018 World Nomad Games The 2018 World Nomad Games (Kyrgyz: Дүйнөлүк көчмөндөр оюндары 2018, Russian: Всемирные игры кочевников 2018) is the 3rd international sports competition organized in ethnic sports. It was held in ...

, opening the Chingiz Aitmatov Hall in the Turkish-Kyrgyz Cultural Center with the Turkish first lady.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeenbekova, Aigul Living people 1968 births First ladies and gentlemen of Kyrgyzstan People from Osh 21st-century Kyrgyzstani women politicians 21st-century Kyrgyzstani politicians