- Born:
- August 23, 1950, Osh, Kirgiziya, U.S.S.R. [now in Kyrgyzstan] (age 76)
- Title / Office:
- president (2010-2011), Kyrgyzstan
- Founder:
- Ata Dzhurt
- Political Affiliation:
- Ata Dzhurt
Roza Otunbayeva
-
Who is Roza Otunbayeva?
Roza Otunbayeva, born in Osh, Kirgiziya, U.S.S.R. (now Kyrgyzstan), on August 23, 1950, is a Kyrgyz politician. She served as president (2010–11) of Kyrgyzstan's interim government after Pres. Kurmanbek Bakiyev's ouster.
Otunbayeva earned a degree in philosophy from Moscow State University in 1972 and then became a philosophy faculty member at Kyrgyz State University. She served as Soviet foreign minister, the Soviet Union’s ambassador to Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan’s first ambassador to the United States, and ambassador to the United Kingdom. In 2004, she broke with Pres. Askar Akayev, and in 2005, she formed the Ata Zhurt opposition party.
After a 2010 uprising, Otunbayeva became interim president. In June 2010, she faced ethnic violence but largely restored stability. Almazbek Atambayev won the presidential election in October 2011, and Otunbayeva stepped down on December 1, marking Kyrgyzstan’s first peaceful transfer of power.
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Which country did Roza Otunbayeva help lead?
Roza Otunbayeva helped lead Kyrgyzstan as president of the interim government (2010–2011) after the ouster of Pres. Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Otunbayeva, an ethnic Kyrgyz, grew up in Kirgiziya and after earning a degree in philosophy from Moscow State University in 1972, she joined the philosophy faculty of Kyrgyz State University. In 1992, a year after Kyrgyzstan gained independence from the Soviet Union, Otunbayeva became the country’s first ambassador to the United States. In October 2011, Almazbek Atambayev won the presidential election, and on December 1, Otunbayeva stepped down in Kyrgyzstan’s first peaceful transfer of power.
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What important position did Roza Otunbayeva hold in Kyrgyzstan?
Roza Otunbayeva held the important position of president of the interim government of Kyrgyzstan from 2010 to 2011. She came to power after the ouster of Pres. Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Otunbayeva, an ethnic Kyrgyz, had previously served as the country's first ambassador to the United States in 1992 and as foreign minister in the government of Pres. Askar Akayev. She later became a United Nations envoy to Georgia. In 2011, Almazbek Atambayev won the presidential election, and Otunbayeva stepped down, marking Kyrgyzstan’s first peaceful transfer of power.
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How did Roza Otunbayeva become president of Kyrgyzstan?
Roza Otunbayeva became the president of Kyrgyzstan following the ouster of Pres. Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April 2010, after violent unrest erupted due to rising utility costs and opposition to Bakiyev's increasingly authoritarian policies and corruption accusations. The opposition, led by Otunbayeva, formed an interim government, and she assumed the role of president. Bakiyev initially claimed legitimacy but eventually left the country, leaving the government in Otunbayeva's hands. She served as interim president until the end of 2011. Despite challenges, such as ethnic violence, Otunbayeva was credited with stabilizing the country. In Kyrgyzstan's first peaceful transfer of power, Almazbek Atambayev won the presidential election in October 2011, and Otunbayeva stepped down on December 1.
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What challenges did Roza Otunbayeva face while in office?
Roza Otunbayeva faced significant challenges as president of Kyrgyzstan's interim government (2010-2011). In June 2010, ethnic violence erupted between the Kyrgyz majority and Uzbek minority in the country's south, resulting in numerous deaths and displacing hundreds of thousands. Although Otunbayeva was largely able to quell the unrest, her government struggled to bring the region under control. Allegations arose that Kyrgyz troops had committed atrocities, suggesting the military was not fully under government control. Despite these challenges, Otunbayeva is credited with bringing stability to the country. She oversaw a referendum that approved a new constitution and then stepped down in Kyrgyzstan’s first peaceful transfer of power.
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How did Roza Otunbayeva influence the future politics of Kyrgyzstan?
Roza Otunbayeva, as interim president of Kyrgyzstan (2010-2011), played a crucial role in stabilizing the country after the ouster of Pres. Kurmanbek Bakiyev. She is credited with quelling unrest and bringing some stability to the country during a challenging period of ethnic violence. Otunbayeva also oversaw the adoption of a new constitution via referendum. Her most significant contribution was facilitating Kyrgyzstan's first peaceful transfer of power when she stepped down on December 1, 2011, after Almazbek Atambayev won the presidential election.
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Roza Otunbayeva (born August 23, 1950, Osh, Kirgiziya, U.S.S.R. [now in Kyrgyzstan]) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as president (2010–11) of the interim government of Kyrgyzstan that came to power with the ouster of Pres. Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
An ethnic Kyrgyz, Otunbayeva grew up in Kirgiziya and completed her education in Russia, earning a degree in philosophy from Moscow State University in 1972. She then left Russia to join the philosophy faculty of Kyrgyz State University. In 1981 she began working as a regional undersecretary of the Communist Party in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. Throughout the 1980s Otunbayeva also held governmental posts as Soviet foreign minister and as the Soviet Union’s ambassador to Malaysia. In 1992, a year after Kyrgyzstan gained its independence from the Soviet Union, Otunbayeva was named the country’s first ambassador to the United States. She held this post until 1994, when she was elevated again to foreign minister, this time in the government of Pres. Askar Akayev. Otunbayeva became ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1997. She later acted as a United Nations envoy to Georgia.
In 2004 Otunbayeva broke with former ally Akayev, accusing him of corruption and nepotism. The following year Otunbayeva formed an opposition political party, Ata Zhurt (“Fatherland”), but Akayev’s government blocked it from participating in the 2005 elections. After Akayev was forced from power in March 2005 in the Ata Zhurt-backed postelection revolt that became known as the Tulip Revolution, the new president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, named Otunbayeva foreign minister. Not long after Bakiyev took power, however, Otunbayeva lost the post when the new parliament refused to approve her appointment.
Otunbayeva won a seat in parliament in 2007 as a member of the Social Democratic Party. By that time she had placed herself in outspoken opposition to Bakiyev, whom she felt displayed the same tendency toward corruption as his predecessor. In time popular opinion turned against Bakiyev as well, and the changing tide culminated in April 2010 in a violent uprising that led to his ouster. A provisional government was put into place with Otunbayeva as interim president, though from afar Bakiyev continued to claim legitimacy for his government. Initially Otunbayeva announced her intention to lead the country for a six-month period—until elections could be held—but later her government announced that she would remain in office until the end of 2011.
In June 2010 Otunbayeva’s hold on power was challenged by an outbreak of ethnic violence between the Kyrgyz majority and Uzbek minority in the south of the country, which resulted in the deaths of scores of Uzbeks and a smaller number of Kyrgyz as well as the dislocation of hundreds of thousands. Otunbayeva, however, was largely able to quell the unrest, and many credited her with bringing stability to the country. Former prime minister Almazbek Atambayev won the presidential election in October 2011, and on December 1, Otunbayeva stepped down in Kyrgyzstan’s first peaceful transfer of power.