Official portraitOffice of the Governor
Erlan Toktarov
Governor of the Irad Special Economic Zone since 2007. Chairman of the Democratic Party of Irad.
Since July 2024 the Governor has been on an extended health retreat and continues to work in seclusion. Under the Elective Governor Acts the Lieutenant Governor, Aidar Maksat, conducts the day-to-day business of government on the Governor's instructions. Executive directives continue to be issued in the Governor's name, and his addresses are broadcast on IradOne.
Department of Public Information
| Born | 12 April 1954 |
|---|---|
| In office | Governor since 2007; elected 2011, re-elected 2015, 2019 and 2023 |
| Party | Democratic Party of Irad (chairman) |
| Lieutenant Governor | Aidar Maksat (since 25 November 2019) |
| Family | Married to Anara Toktarova, founder of the Children's Fund (2008); five sons and a daughter |
Biography
Erlan Toktarov served as an officer in the logistics service of the Soviet Army before entering public life in Irad. In 1994 he was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives, and he later moved to the Territorial Senate, where he was Majority Leader from 2000 to 2004.
In the winter of 2006–2007 the cabinet of the short-lived Democratic Republic of Irad secretly negotiated with the three neighbouring states a set of treaties that would have dissolved Irad and divided it among them. On 25 February 2007, in Nurzhan, Erlan Toktarov made the drafts public, proclaimed the Irad Special Economic Zone and suspended a sovereignty that others had tried to sell. The words first heard that day, Irad satylbayt (“Irad is not for sale”), have stayed with the country ever since.
He took office as Governor after the Bishkek Ceasefire of September 2007 and was elected in the first regular ISEZ election in November 2011. He was re-elected in 2015, 2019 and 2023. Under his administration the Toktogul basin and the Fergana Mountain Transit Highway corridor were joined to the ISEZ by the 2009 corridor protocol, the som was restored to full reserve cover at 8.40 to the dollar, and the districts were reorganised in 2016.
A horseman since childhood, the Governor is patron of the Akyel Breeding Sanctuary and of the preservation of the Akyel and Chongtor breeds. His golden-dun stallion Zharkyn has appeared on the ISEZ's postage stamps.
Addresses
The Governor's addresses are recorded at the Governor's residence and broadcast on IradOne. They are delivered in Iradi; the English texts below are issued by the Department of Public Information.