Amirjan Qosanov was born to a Muslim Kazakh family on 13 May 1964 in the settlement of Sapaq in the Aral District of the Kyzylorda Region.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Qosanov worked in the State Committee on Youth Affairs where he held the position as the Head of the Press and Mass Information Department, Deputy Chairman of the Committee (1993), Deputy Minister of Youth, Tourism and Sport of Kazakhstan (1994) and was a member of the Commission under President Nursultan Nazarbayev which worked on issuing pardons.

In 1998, Qosanov worked as a press secretary of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan and served as a co-founder and the president of the Center for Social-Economic and Social-Political Initiatives.

In March 2006, Qosanov was sentenced 15 days to jail for organizing an unauthorized rally in support of politically repressed victims by the Almaty Inter-District Court.

[8] At the 2019 Kazakh presidential election, which took place on 9 June, he won 16.02% of the vote, making it a best performance by a candidate towards an incumbent president since Zharmakhan Tuyakbay in 2005.

[9] On the night of 10 June, Qosanov conceded the race and congratulated Tokayev for his win to which he received criticism for basing it on the exit polls before final results were announced and for refusing to condemn the election despite his promise after many cases of fraud were reported.

He emphasized that he's obliged not abandon his policy statements and principles and will promise to advocate for democratic values and for a dialogue between society and the authorities.