kezhan Kazhegeldin was born March 2, 1952 in the Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan. His parents were teachers and promoted education. Kazhegeldin received a PhD in economics, and worked as a teacher upon completion of his education. After a distinguished career in the classroom, he served in USSR army and then worked for the party and Soviet executive bodies. In 1987, he enrolled in officer training at the KGB. He retired from the organization in 1989 to return to his native republic. He then entered a career in business and led one of the most successful businesses in the country, "Semei" Versatile Industrial Complex. He embarked on what would become a remarkably successful career in politics in 1991 as Chairman of the Entrepreneurs Council. By 1993 he was elected a Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Kazakhstan on a platform of democratization, economic reform and fighting crime. This platform proved so popular, he was elected Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, then a member of the CIS. As Prime Minister, he succeeded in creating a system with a stable currency, bank system, and privatization programs that led to growth. He worked at attracting foreign investment, and helped to lay groundwork for a stock market. In 1997 he resigned as Prime Minster and in 1998 was elected as President of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan. He worked to solicit foreign grants that went to school computerization and modernization, health care reforms and support of small and medium sized businesses. He was simultaneously working on a provocative book concerning the political and economic status of Kazakhstan.

After the book, "Kazakhstan: The Right to Choose" was published, differences between himself and President Nazarbaev erupted due to the criticisms leveled by Kazhegeldin about the political and economic situations in the country. Subsequently, Kazhegeldin's 21st Century Freedom Foundation sponsored amendments to the Kazakhstan constitution concerning free elections, further infuriating Nazarbaev and the existing power structure, which rejected the amendments and instead produced their own laws that violated democratic standards. Kazhegeldin resigned his positions of President of the Union of Industrialists and Entreprenuers and as an Economic Adviser to the president. Then, authorities began a campaign to discredit and even tried to kill him. The government imposed fines on him, and to this day he is not allowed to register with the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He helped establish the Congress of Democratic Forces Republic of Kazakhstan in Moscow in late 1998 that resolved to create the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan, with him as Chairman. He still leads the organization today.