First premiership Appointment President
Nursultan Nazarbayev nominated Massimov to succeed
Daniyal Akhmetov as Prime Minister on 9 January 2007. The
Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the nomination on 10 January with 37 out of 39 Senators and 66 of 77
Mäjilis deputies voting for Massimov. Akhmetov became the defense minister, replacing
Mukhtar Altynbayev. From that moment on, members of the government actively went online. Ministers' accounts appeared in many social networks, and virtual blogs have replaced real receptions. Massimov's government faced the worldwide
Great Recession. In February 2009, the
National Bank of Kazakhstan devalued the
Kazakhstani tenge by 22%. Massimov ordered to stabilize prices in Kazakhstan by instructing law enforcement agencies to ensure that the dollar exchange rate fluctuates within 150 tenge plus or minus 3%. The reforms and strategic interventions pursued by the government almost doubled the GDP per capita of Kazakhstan from 2008–2012, with economic growth rates reaching an average level of 5.5% per year. The first phase of the Kazakh Unified National Healthcare System was implemented during this time.
2011–2012 After the
2011 presidential election, Massimov's government resigned, and he was shortly reappointed prime minister by Nazarbayev on 8 April 2011. Massimov was directly involved in the preparation for the
2011 Asian Winter Games, by ordering to make the facilities accessible to ordinary citizens "so that they could improve their sports skills."
Second premiership 2014–2015 On 2 April 2014, Massimov was reappointed again as the prime minister after replacing
Serik Akhmetov. The possible reason was due to the economic troubles under Akhmetov in the country which faced lower GDP growth and devaluation of the tenge by 20% in February 2014 with Massimov having a better experience in running the government for such issues. Massimov was also known for his ability to raise foreign investment. After the
annexation of Crimea by the Russia in March 2014 which resulted in
international sanctions against Kazakhstan's main trading partner,
Russia, exports between two countries shrank by 24.6%. In June 2014, Massimov attended the presidential inauguration of
Petro Poroshenko on the orders of President Nazarbayev as a way of normalizing Kazakhstan's relations with Ukraine.
2015–2016 Following the
2015 presidential election, Massimov, along with his cabinet, stepped down, and he was subsequently reinstated as prime minister by Nazarbayev on 29 April 2015. From autumn 2014, the world faced an
oil glut which the prices of oil per barrel fell to 4-year low of 82.93$. By August 2015, the tenge lost 20% of its value due to the country's transition to a freely floating exchange rate of the currency. In response to the crisis, Massimov believed that without the intervention from the government, the economy would experience a default with its growth being restored along with an increase in credit and investment activity, creation of new jobs as well as the reduction of inflation. By the end of 2015, the tenge was seen as the most depreciated currency in
Europe and the
CIS countries with the currency being depreciated by 85.2%. In the upcoming
Expo 2017 event, Massimov visited facilities under construction and controlled the preparation process. During his tenure, a corruption scandal broke out in June 2015 over the company which the officials were accused of embezzling 10 billion ₸. Court hearings lasted several months which resulted in the ex-head of the national company
Talgat Ermegiyaev was sentenced to 14 years in June 2016 after being found guilty of embezzling 5.9 billion ₸. Massimov served as the chairman of the Bid Organizing Committee of Kazakhstan, which presented
Almaty as a city for the
2022 Winter Olympics. In his address to the
International Olympic Committee, he assured the IOC by saying:“We are a great opportunity to prove that developing countries can successfully host the Winter Games. We are a great opportunity to give Olympic and Paralympic athletes the true Winter Games experience they deserve and will life. We are a brilliant opportunity to demonstrate the true long-term strength of the Olympic legacy in a region that has never hosted the Games." Despite Massimov's efforts,
Beijing instead in July 2015 was chosen to hold the Olympics, receiving 44 votes against 40 for Kazakhstan. In September 2015, Massimov's government allowed the prices for the most popular grade of fuel in Kazakhstan, the AI-92, to float freely. From 108 ₸ per liter the price at some gas stations jumped almost to 150 ₸. The price eventually leveled off at around 128 ₸ per liter of fuel. In August 2016, the Kazakh government again deregulated of the fuel and lubricants market and struck diesel fuel from the list of products which maximum prices are set. As a result, the price of diesel fuel almost equaled to AI-92 by rising from 99 ₸ to 110–115 ₸. Massimov was heavily involved in the
100 Concrete Steps plan as head of the National Modernisation Commission. The change to a 12-year education system was also brought in during Massimov’s tenure as Prime Minister. He served that post until he was succeeded by
Bakhytzhan Sagintayev. == Post-premiership ==