On October 29, President Kurmanbek Bakiev signed a decree on the appointment of his youngest son, 32-year old Maxim Bakiev, as head of the Central Agency on Development, Investments and Innovations (CADII). The agency was established under the President’s Institute which has replaced the former Presidential Administration as a result of the recent wide-ranging reform of state institutions.

According to the law on the agency’s creation, CADII will be responsible for “structural reorganization of the country’s economy, support for business, attracting foreign investment, and most importantly, preparation of the country’s budget and national economic programs”. In other words, the President’s son will deal with all foreign investors and control all large business projects where the state is involved on behalf of the government. Moreover, with the management of the National Development Fund (NDF) handed over to the agency, the disposal of all foreign credits, including Russia’s US$ 300 million, as well as the state share’s in the biggest state-owned companies were entitled to the CADII.

It is evident that the emergence of such a strong financial institution has diminished the status of the cabinet of ministers. The fact that the Prime Minister will have a position with the Board of Directors of the NDF as an ordinary member while the head of the CADII will be the chair, makes clear who is in charge of controlling the “big money”.

Maxim Bakiev graduated with honors from the Law Department of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University in 1999. His professional career began in the international legal company “Interpravo”. For the last five years, he presented himself as an international consultant and an expert on strategic planning, geo-economics, marketing, legal and financial issues. Prior to his last appointment, he was on the list of the members of the Board of Directors of the Latvia-based conglomerate “Maval Aktiviti”. It is also known that the President’s son controls shares in Blackpool Football Club, a soccer team in the English Championship League.

Despite his supposed disengagement in anything related to Kyrgyzstan, Maxim Bakiev is publicly known as a “shady general” and “successful businessman” for his ostensibly direct involvement in the take-over of businesses that flared up after the Tulip Revolution. However, information on his possible connection to leading businesses in the country remains no more than rumors. It is notable that one year ago, the President’s son was implicated in a huge political scandal, when the Central Electoral Commission chair Klara Kabilova made a public statement saying she was threatened by Maxim Bakiev for her refusal to falsify the results of the local elections.

In the meantime, this appointment evoked various opinions in the public. Some politicians and political experts consider it to be a right decision. The former Prime Minister and rival to the President Felix Kulov stated in the Russian newspaper “Vremya Novosty” that the appointment will be useful for the public. “Many believe that Maxim rules over the country in a shadow. Now, he is “legalized” and will have certain responsibility”, Kulov concluded. Local political analyst Mars Sariev believes that Bakiev can contribute to the country’s economic development by attracting foreign investments, due to his personal connections in international business circles.

On the other hand, opposition leaders emphasize the contradiction of this appointment to the state law on “state service” according to which relatives of the President cannot hold a position subordinate to him. They view the decision as a concentration of power in the hands of the Bakiev family, providing it with total control of state resources.

Moreover, many agree that the President opens doors to his son with an aim to make him the successor. Leader of the opposition United People’s Movement Topchubek Turgunaliev claims that Kyrgyz authorities aim to follow the Azerbaijani scenario – to transfer the presidency from father to son. “By the time of the next presidential elections the son should prove himself as a professional manager”, Turgunaliev stated to the “Azattyk” news agency.

In the meantime, Maxim Bakiev has already made loud statements regarding the economy’s reorganization. He has managed to surround himself with young professionals. The involvement of young people with good reputation in the CADII administration was widely welcomed by the public. Maxim Bakiev’s team has already announced the launch of four initial projects, such as the creation of a state mortgage company, a state micro-credit company, a state leasing company and further development of the existing Agricultural Corporation.

Despite ambiguous reactions to this appointment it should be noted that the President places a huge responsibility on his son’s shoulders and a failure on his part will directly damage the image of the head of state.