Kazakhstan appointed former economy minister Timur Suleimenov as its central bank governor on Monday, as the upper house of parliament in the oil-rich Central Asian nation approved his nomination to replace Galymzhan Pirmatov.

Suleimenov, 45, worked most recently as President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's deputy chief of staff. He studied finance at the University of Maryland.

Tokayev said in an annual address last week he wanted banks to lend more to the economy instead of investing in short-term central bank bonds and taking advantage of high interest rates on the money market.

Tokayev also called for more money from the rainy-day National Fund, managed by the central bank, to be invested in "strategic" development projects.

In recent months, Kazakhstan's central bank has been battling inflation which early this year exceeded 20% in annual terms. As price growth slowed, the bank has started gradually easing its monetary policy.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Kim Coghill & Simon Cameron-Moore)