Albert Pavlovich Rau (, , ; born 1960) is a Kazakh politician and economist, who's currently serving as the

Deputy Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and Member of the Mäjilis. Before his parliamentary career, Rau held several positions in both local and republican government, like Deputy Minister of Investments and Development (2014–2017), First Deputy Minister of Industry and New technologies (2010–2014), Äkim of Akmola Region (2008–2010) and Lisakovsk City Äkim (1994–2004).

Early life and education

Rau was born on September 1, 1960, in the Valeyanovka village,

Kostanay Region Kostanay Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is the city of Kostanay. The population of the region is 835,686. The population living in Kostanay is 207,000 which is equivalent to 23% of the region. Geography Kosta ...

to a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

family. Born an

ethnic German Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War ...

, Rau is the grandnephew of a famous

Volga German The Volga Germans (, ; ) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov and close to Ukraine nearer to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in th ...

archaeologist Paul Rau. Albert Rau ended his studies as a mining engineer in the in 1982. In 2004, he finished studying in the and became a manager-economist. Rau started his career in 1981 as the Chairman of the Trade Union Committee of the Rudny Industrial Institute. From 1982 to 1984, Rau served in the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. From 1984 to 1991, he was an electrician of the production site, chairman of the trade union committee of the Kurzhunkulsky mine of the Sokolov-Sarbai Mining Production Association.

Political career

Regional politics

Rau started his political career around the time of the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, in the year 1991, as Deputy Head for Production of the executive committee of the Lisakovsk City Council of People's Deputies (now Lisakovsk City

Mäslihat A Mäslihat (, ) is a local representative body (parliament) in Kazakhstan that is elected by a population of a region, district and city. Etymology The word mäslihat is derived from the Arabic مَصْلَحَة ('' maṣlaḥa''), meaning " ...

). From 1992 to 1993, he was the first chairman of the Lisakovsk City Council of People's Deputies. From 1993 to 1994, he was deputy chairman, and then Chairman of the Lisakovo Free Economic Zone. In 1994, he was appointed as the Head of the Lisakovsk City Administration, in 1995, the position was renamed Äkim of Lisakovsk. Rau served as the city head until 2004. In the years 2004–2007, Rau served as the Deputy Äkim of Kostanay Region and in 2008, he was appointed as the 6th Äkim of Akmola Region.

Career in the Government

In 2010, he ended his äkimship to be appointed as First Vice Minister of Industry and New Technologies of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. As reported by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...

and Rau himself, Rau's appointment in the

Government of Kazakhstan The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (, ''Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Ükımetı'') is the collegial body that exercises Executive branch, executive power in the Kazakhstan, Republic of Kazakhstan; The government heads the system of execu ...

as Deputy Minister was made to have him serve as the de facto Minister of Industry and New Technologies; the reasoning being that Minister Asset Issekeshev, who was also Deputy Prime Minister, wouldn't have enough time to lead the Ministry. He served here until 2014, when he became Vice Minister, and later First Vice Minister for Investments and Development of the country until 2017.

Parliamentary career

Since March 2017, Rau has been serving in the 6th, 7th and

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

convocations of the Mäjilis consecutively in the Amanat political faction. On 31 March 2023, Rau was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Mäjilis.

Personal life

Albert Rau speaks

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

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 ...

. He is married to Svetlana Vasilyevna Rau, an ethnic

. Rau has two children; a daughter Alexandra (born 1985) and a son Aleksey (born 1986). Rau's son, Aleksey Rau is a famous entrepreneur, lives in

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

, is an alumnus of the

SBS Swiss Business School SBS Swiss Business School is a private business school located in Zurich, Switzerland, with affiliated campuses in Latvia, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Argentina, India, Myanmar and Spain. History SBS Swiss Business School ...

and the creator of the Astana School of Management and Business. Albert Rau's daughter Alexandra is married, and currently lives outside the country.

Awards, decorations and titles

Rau's awards and decorations include: * OrdenBars

Order of the Leopard, 3rd class * OrdenDostik

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...

Order of Parasat * Rib Medal For his contribution to the creation of the EEU

Medal "For Contribution to the Creation of the Eurasian Economic Union", 1st class * GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 6 GrVK Stern Band

Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

Medal "For 10 years of Kazakhstan's independence" * "Miner's Glory" (), 2nd class * Certificate by the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

Rau's honorary titles include: * Honorary professor of the Kokshetau State University * Honorary professor of the * Academic of the Kazakhstan National Academy of Natural Sciences (2011)

References

External links

Rau's biography on the official Mäjilis website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rau, Albert 1960 births Living people People from Kostanay Region Kazakhstani people of German descent Nur Otan politicians Members of the Mäjilis Recipients of the Order of Parasat