Edil Baisalov

Edil Baisalov (Эдиль Байсалов) is a Kyrgyz politician, who currently serves as the Deputy prime minister in government of Kyrgyz Republic.

He was born on August 6, 1977, in Bishkek and grew up in Naryn.

He studied in Turkey (1992–1993) and the United States (1994–1995) as an exchange student.

He attended the American University of Central Asia and the Kyrgyz State National University.

In 1999-2007 Baisalov led the 'Coalition for Civil Society and Democracy', the largest Kyrgyz advocacy and election monitoring network.

In February 2003, the Kyrgyz government forcibly hospitalized Baisalov, preventing him from attending an NGO meeting.

Baisalov played a leading role in the Tulip Revolution of March 24, 2005.

Baisalov has campaigned against crime and corruption.

On April 12, 2006, he survived an attempted assassination for his vocal criticism of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's failure to battle organized crime.

In July 2006 he was the recipient of the American Bar Association's international rule of law award presented by the US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the following citation: "'Edil Baisalov, President of the Coalition of NGOs for Democracy and Civil Society, Kyrgyzstan. Steadfast human rights advocate, he has promoted reform efforts designed to advance democracy and abate corruption in his country. He has persisted in doing so despite threats to, and even a violent assault on, his very life'."In November 2006, Baisalov was involved in large anti-government demonstrations in Bishkek, acting as a spokesman for protesters.

Shortly afterwards, Baisalov was again attacked in the Osh airport.

In August 2007 Baisalov joined the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, chaired by then prime-minister Almazbek Atambaev.

He played an important role in consolidating democratic opposition to President Kurmanbek Bakiev.

On December 4, 2007, Edil Baisalov was removed by the Central Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan from the candidates list of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan and barred from participating in the 2007 parliamentary elections.

Some activists and lawyers claimed this decision to be politically motivated and illegal.

It was alleged that Baisalov published the ballot on his blog and the General Prosecutor charged him with attempt to undermine integrity of elections.

As a member of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda, Edil Baisalov illegally published a photo of an election ballot.

In response, the CEC decided to destroy all printed ballots (2.7 million copies).

According to the CEC and the Prosecutor General's Office, Baisalov caused damage to the state in excess of 11 million soms ($325,000) and obstructed the work of the Central Election Commission, creating conditions for the disruption of parliamentary elections.

In 2007, Baisalov, having received legal assistance from the NGO "Adilet" clinics, "tearfully asked for legal aid in connection with the criminal case initiated against him" and was forced to flee the country.

Baisalov claimed that he was a victim of political vendetta and left Kyrgyzstan on December 8, 2007, for Kazakhstan and was resettled with his family in Sweden by UNHCR.

He participated in the Tulip Revolution of 2005 and following the 2010 Kyrgyzstani uprising on April 7, 2010, briefly served as Chief of Staff of the interim government led by Roza Otunbayeva.

Known in Kyrgyzstan as the "Great Justifier" and the main advocate of Kyrgyz authorities.

In 2012-2013 Edil Baisalov served as acting Minister for Social Development, and later as deputy Minister for Social Development, with the responsibility for children, elderly and the disabled.

His refusal to declare a moratorium on the international adoptions attracted controversy.

On May 28, 2019, Foreign Affairs Committee of Jogorku Kenesh approved and nominated Baisalov to be the Kyrgyz Republic Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

His nomination was approved by the President Sooronbay Jeenbekov's decree on June 11, 2019.

Edil Baisalov presented his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II on November 21, 2019, formally becoming Ambassador.

However, after coming to power in 2020 and being appointed to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, Edil Baisalov completely changed his previous rhetoric, and began to be called the "great justifier" of the authorities.

For instance, one of the consequences of it is that Kyrgyzstan dropped 50 positions in the freedom of speech ranking between 2020 and 2023, the biggest drop in the history of its independence, and massive arrests of political activists have started.

As Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet of Ministers from 2020, Edil Baisalov became one of the apologists and advocates of Sadyr Japarov's power.

Emil Baisalov's biography seems to have split into two parts - before and after coming to power, and he himself earned the title "power's attorney".

Moreover, the media began to compare Baisalov's statements before and after coming to power.

Despite assurances from deputies that the establishment of a presidential system could lead to Asian despotism, Edil Baisalov directly supported the establishment of a super presidential constitution in Kyrgyzstan, opposing his former colleagues in the non-governmental sector.

In particular, during debates on Radio "Liberty", he openly spoke out against the parliamentary system of government:"'We don't care about the opinion of all 90 deputies now. We will not chase after each deputy, we will work with 45 or 50 deputies. They will pass our laws. The rest [of the deputies], I will say, even if they object and stamp their feet, it will not bother us [Cabinet]. You will not be able to distract us. We will not wait for your approval.'"Despite being a member of the NGO community himself, he openly stated that "many NGOs exist for blanket accusations and defamation of power".

The heads of human rights organizations reminded Baisalov that at one time, during the period of persecution by the authorities, he himself "cried and asked for support" from NGOs.

Kyrgyzstan dropped 50 positions in the freedom of speech ranking between 2022 and 2023, the biggest drop in the history of its independence.

Baisalov frequently defends authorities in cases of regular corruption scandals.

After an anti-corruption investigation revealed the direct involvement of the family of GKNB head Kamchybek Tashiev, a colleague of Baisalov as vice-prime-minister, in fuel supplies and nepotism in the energy sector, Vice Prime Minister Edil Baisalov came to his defense.

After this story, three criminal cases were initiated against the investigative journalist.