Serik Nyghmetuly Akhmetov (Kazakh: Серік Нығметұлы Ахметов, romanized: Serık Nyğmetūly Ahmetov; born 25 June 1958) was a Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 2012 to 2014.

Akhmetov served for a time as first deputy akim of Astana before being appointed to government as Minister of Transport and Communications on 25 September 2006.

In November 2014, Akhmetov was arrested after being accused of committing a crime while serving as an äkim of Karaganda Region to which he was convicted in December 2015.

[2] In 2004, he became the head of the State Inspectorate of the Office of Organizational Control Work and Personnel Policy of the Administration of the President.

From 2005, Akhmetov served as an executive director, then chairman of the board of the Atameken National Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers of Kazakhstan.

Akhmetov proposed building a transport corridor using preexisting roads from southern Kazakhstan through Kazan and Orenburg to St. Petersburg.

He outlined five areas for the implementation of social and economic policy aimed at achieving the planned growth parameters.

[18] In early 2013, utility tariffs increased in almost all regions due to the need of infrastructure renovation and lack of investment according to the Government, this move however was met with criticism.

[20] In an interview, he said “in accordance with the instruction of the head of state, the concept should provide for joint responsibility of the state, employer and employee for the level of social protection of Kazakhstanis.”[21] However, the law proposal by Labour and Social Protection Minister Serik Abdenov to increase the retirement age for women from 58 to 63 sparked discontent among Kazakh citizens as well as criticism from Nazarbayev himself who called for the postponement for the increased pension age.

[23] By the end of 2013, Kazakhstan's nominal GDP reached a record breaking 236.6 billion, making it the biggest in Central Asia.

[24] This led to rare protests across the country and rumours on social media about how the Kazakh banks were on verge of collapse resulting in masses of people withdrawing their savings.

[25] On 14 February, Akhmetov announced that the government would set price controls for socially important products, fuels and lubricants.

[28][29] On 19 November 2014, the court of Kazybek Bi district of Karaganda, Akhmetov was accused of committing a crime under Article 176 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In addition, shortly before the start of the consideration of the appeal, the friends and brother of Serik Akhmetov fully reimbursed the material damage to the state for all the convicts.

[40] In 2015, for the false Internet post about Akhmetov's death, Jandos Baishemirov, the notorious Kazakhstani blogger, a political critic of the government was detained.

Many independent human rights and freedom of speech organizations have noted that the harassment of a blogger did not meet UN democratic standards.