Aigul Japarova (Kyrgyz: Айгүл Жапарова, née Asanbaeva), as the wife of President Sadyr Japarov, is the incumbent First Lady of Kyrgyzstan and she is around five to six years his junior.[1][2]

Aigul Japarova
Айгүл Жапарова
Japarova in 2022
First Lady of Kyrgyzstan
Current
Assumed role
28 January 2021
PresidentSadyr Japarov
Preceded byAigul Jeenbekova
Personal details
Born
Aigul Asanbaeva (Айгүл Асанбаева)

1973 (age 50–51)
Tüp District, Issyk-Kul Region, Kyrgyz SSR, Soviet Union
Spouse
(m. 1991)
ResidenceAla Archa State Residence
Alma materArabaev Kyrgyz State University

Biography

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She was born in a village in the Tüp District on 14 November 1973.[2] She studied at a medical school, then received a higher education at the Arabaev Kyrgyz State University. Asanbayeva lived with her children abroad for three years during her husband's exile, mainly in Poland and Russia. In an interview, she claimed that she turned to President Almazbek Atambayev's wife, Raisa, for help, when her husband and son were detained by the security forces at the Kyrgyz border.[3] She and Japarov are the parents of four children, one of whom died on 26 August 2019 in an accident.[2]

Tenure as First Lady

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During her husband's acting presidency, she volunteered to help volunteers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Kyrgyzstan.[4] In June 2021, she joined her husband on his official visit to Turkey in her first such foreign trip.[5]

Perception

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She has been compared to Mayram Akayeva, the wife of the first president Askar Akayev. It has also been noted that her father has been working at the Kumtor Gold Mine for many years, a place which Japarov for many years has advocated for its nationalization.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Супруга Жапарова Айгуль: Садыр – не романтик". Кактус (in Russian). 11 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Первые леди Кыргызстана. Вспоминаем, какими они были + Айгуль Жапарова — Asiais.ru". asiais.ru. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Что известно о супруге Садыра Жапарова". ia-centr.ru.
  4. ^ OSMONALIEVA, Baktygul (5 November 2020). "Second wave of COVID-19: Sadyr Japarov's wife to help volunteers". 24.kg. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Kyrgyzstan: First lady's prominence sets tongues wagging | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org.
  6. ^ ""Не всем дано стать первой леди страны". Что известно о супруге Садыра Жапарова | Новости Таджикистана ASIA-Plus". asiaplustj.info.