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Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first
President of Kazakhstan The president of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Президенті, Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Prezidentı; russian: Президент Республики Казахстан, Prezident Respu ...
, in office from country’s independence in 1991 until his formal resignation in 2019, and as the Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2022. He held the special title as Elbasy (meaning "Leader of the Nation", ) from 2010 to 2022. Nazarbayev was one of the longest-ruling non-royal leaders in the world, having led Kazakhstan for nearly three decades, excluding chairmanship in the Security Council after the end of his presidency. He has often been referred to as a dictator due to usurpation of power and autocratic rule. He was named First Secretary of the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
of the Kazakh SSR in 1989 and was elected as the nation's first president shortly before its independence from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. In 1962, while working as a factory steel worker, Nazarbayev joined the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspape ...
(CPSU) where he was a prominent member of the
Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
and a full-time worker for the party. From 1984, Nazarbayev was the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
of the Kazakh SSR. During his tenure, he was appointed as the First Secretary of the
Communist Party of Kazakhstan The Communist Party of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Коммунистік партиясы, ''Qazaqstan Kommunistık Partiasy'', QKP; russian: Коммунистическая партия Казахстана) is a banned political pa ...
(QKP), the most powerful position in 1989. In April 1990, Nazarbayev was appointed as Kazakhstan's first president by the
Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USS ...
. From there, he supported Russian President
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
against the attempted coup in August 1991 by the Soviet hardliners. The
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
then fell apart after 1991 Soviet coup d'etat failed, though Nazarbayev went to great lengths to maintain close economic ties with
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
by introducing Kazakhstan into the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010 ...
(CIS) and eventually the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Nazarbayev ruled an
authoritarian regime Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic ...
in Kazakhstan, as
human rights abuses Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of h ...
were severe, dissent was suppressed, and elections were not free and fair. In the country's first direct presidential election, held in 1991, he appeared alone on the ballot with no opposing candidates and won 98% of the vote. An April 1995 referendum extended Nazarbayev's term until 2000 and in August of that year, a
constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
was held which allowed for a new draft for the Constitution of Kazakhstan that greatly strengthened presidential powers. In
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, Nazarbayev was re-elected for a second term and again in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
and
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
after a
constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...
had granted him to run as president indefinitely. In 2010, he announced reforms to encourage a
multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...
in an attempt to counter the ruling Nur Otan's one-party control of the lower house Mazhilis from
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
. This led to the reinstatement of various parties in Parliament following the 2012 legislative elections, although having little influence and opposition as the parties supported and voted with the government while Nur Otan still had dominant-party control of the Mazhilis. In
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
, Nazarbayev was re-elected for the last time for a fifth term with almost 98% of the vote while in a middle of an economic crisis, as he ran virtually unopposed. In January 2017, Nazarbayev proposed constitutional reforms that would delegate powers to the
Parliament of Kazakhstan The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Парламенті, Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Parlamentı; rus, Парламент Республики Казахстан, r=Parliament Res ...
. In May 2018, the Parliament approved a constitutional amendment allowing Nazarbayev to lead the Security Council for life. In March 2019, he resigned from the presidency amid anti-government rallies and was succeeded by
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
, a close ally of Nazarbayev, who overwhelmingly won the following snap presidential elections in June 2019. He was immune from any criminal prosecution until being stripped from privileges following the 2022 constitutional referendum and continued to serve as the chairman of both the
Assembly of People of Kazakhstan The Assembly of People of Kazakhstan (; ) is a national political body in Kazakhstan consisting of delegates of the Regional Assemblies of the People. Its task is to represent the various ethnic groups that make up the Central Asian state at n ...
and Nur Otan until 2021. Nazarbayev is also a member of the Constitutional Council and an honorary member of the
Senate of Kazakhstan The Senate of Kazakhstan ( kk, Qazaqstan Parlamentınıñ Senaty, ''Қазақстан Парламентінің Сенаты'') is the upper house of two chambers in Kazakhstan's legislature, known as the Parliament (''Parlamenti''). The S ...
, and was chairman of the Security Council until his dismissal from that post in response to the 2022 unrest.


Early life and career

Nazarbayev was born in
Chemolgan Ushkonyr ( kk, Үшқоңыр, ''Üşqoñyr''), formerly known as Shamalgan ( kk, Шамалған, ''Şamalğan'') or Chemolgan (russian: Чемолган), is a rural community near Almaty in Kazakhstan. It is notable as the birthplace of former ...
, a rural town near
Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...
, when Kazakhstan was one of the republics of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, to parents Ábish Nazarbayev (1903–1971) and Aljan Nazarbayeva (1910–1977). His father Ábish was a poor labourer who worked for a wealthy local family until Soviet rule confiscated the family's farmland in the 1930s during
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
's
collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...
policy. Following this, his father took the family to the mountains to live out a nomadic existence. His family's religious tradition was
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
. Äbish avoided compulsory military service due to a withered arm he had sustained when putting out a fire. At the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the family returned to the village of Chemolgan where in 1948, Nazarbayev began attending school and being taught the
Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...
; while living with his paternal uncle, as his parents had not owned dwelling in the place for a brief period. Nazarbayev later himself chose to settle in the upper part of Chemolgan where mainly ethnic Russians lived, in order to master Russian while communicating with them. Despite performing well at school, by the time Nazarbayev was in 10th grade, all the classes in the same grade were called off due to the shortage of students and as a result in 1957, he was sent to a boarding school named after
Abai Qunanbaiuly Ibrahim (Abai) Qunanbaiuly ( kk, Абай Құнанбайұлы, ; russian: Абай Кунанбаев; ) was a Kazakh poet, composer and Hanafi Maturidi theologian philosopher. He was also a cultural reformer toward European and Russian cul ...
in
Kaskelen Kaskelen (, ''Qaskeleñ'') is a town and seat of Karasay District in Almaty Region of south-eastern Kazakhstan.National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. GeoNames GeoNames (or GeoNames.org) is a user editable geographical database available ...
. During that time, Nazarbayev's father, Äbish, wished to create favourable conditions towards his son for studying and living as well as to potentially avoid bad influence from peers by renting himself an apartment for Nazarbayev in the village. After leaving school, Nazarbayev took up a one-year, government-funded scholarship at the Karaganda Steel Mill in Temirtau. He also spent time training at a steel plant in
Dniprodzerzhynsk Kamianske ( uk, Кам'янське, ), formerly Dniprodzerzhynsk, is an industrial city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast of Ukraine and a port on the Dnieper. Administratively, it serves as the administrative center of Kamianske Raion. Kamianske hosts ...
, and therefore was away from Temirtau when riots broke out there over working conditions. By the age of 20, he was earning a relatively good wage doing "incredibly heavy and dangerous work" in the blast furnace. From there, Nazarbayev married Sara Nazarbayeva on 25 August 1962, who was a dispatcher at the same steel mill that he worked in. Together, both parties would eventually have three daughters: Dariga, Dinara, and
Aliya Aliya ( ar, عَلِيَّة‎ ), Aaliyah, Alia, or Aliyah is an Arabic feminine given name. It is the feminine of the name Ali, meaning "exalted". People * Aliya bint Ali (1911–1950), Queen of Iraq * ''Aliyah bint Abdallah al-Mansur'', was th ...
, born in 1963, 1967, and 1980, respectively. On 15 November 1962, Nazarbayev joined the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
, becoming a prominent member of the Young Communist League (
Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
) and full-time worker for the party, while attending the Karagandy Polytechnic Institute. He was appointed secretary of the Communist Party Committee of the Karaganda Metallurgical Kombinat in 1972, and four years later became Second Secretary of the Karaganda Regional Party Committee. In his role as a bureaucrat, Nazarbayev dealt with legal papers, logistical problems, and industrial disputes, as well as meeting workers to solve individual issues. He later wrote that "the central allocation of capital investment and the distribution of funds" meant that infrastructure was poor, workers were demoralised and overworked, and centrally set targets were unrealistic; he saw the steel plant's problems as a microcosm for the problems for the Soviet Union as a whole.


Rise to power

In 1984, at the age 42, Nazarbayev became the
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan ( Kazakh Cyrillic: Қазақстан Республикасының Премьер-Министрі, Kazakh Latin: Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Premier-Ministrı, ; russian: Премьер-Министр Респ ...
(Chairman of the Council of Ministers), the youngest-ever officeholder in the Soviet Union to serve the post, under Dinmukhamed Kunaev, the First Secretary of the
Communist Party of Kazakhstan The Communist Party of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Коммунистік партиясы, ''Qazaqstan Kommunistık Partiasy'', QKP; russian: Коммунистическая партия Казахстана) is a banned political pa ...
. During that period, the
Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
policies slowly began to take place under
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...
while Nazarbayev himself was viewed to be more of experienced policy maker as his views and stances had already been formed during the
Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...
and
1965 Soviet economic reform The 1965 Soviet economic reform, sometimes called the Kosygin reform () or Liberman reform, was a set of planned changes in the economy of the USSR. A centerpiece of these changes was the introduction of profitability and sales as the two key in ...
. Kazakhstan at that time was seen as a backwater republic within the Soviet Union with its industry being heavily reliant upon rich raw materials, specifically in mining sectors and was forced upon to import its consumer goods from other Soviet republics. It faced problems especially in countryside with a need state farm repairs, as well as housing for farmers, lack of available preschools for rural children which Nazarbayev during his tenure raised issues in regard to these problems that was reportedly met with disagreements amongst the republic's leadership. Growing frustrated over the problems within the Kazakh SSR, at the 16th Session of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan held in January 1986, Nazarbayev criticized Askar Kunayev, head of the Academy of Sciences, for not reforming his department. Dinmukhamed, Nazarbayev's boss and Askar's brother, felt deeply angered and betrayed. Kunayev went to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and demanded Nazarbayev's dismissal while Nazarbayev's supporters campaigned for Kunayev's dismissal and Nazarbayev's promotion. Kunayev was ousted in 1986 and replaced by Gennady Kolbin, an ethnic Russian, who despite his office, had little authority in Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev was named party leader and the top position (First Secretary of the Communist Party) on 22 June 1989, only the second Kazakh (after Kunayev) to hold the post. He was the
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet The Constitution of the Soviet Union recognised the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the earlier Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Congress of Soviets as the highest organs of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ...
(
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
) from 22 February to 24 April 1990. On 24 April 1990, Nazarbayev was elected as the first
President of Kazakhstan The president of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Президенті, Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Prezidentı; russian: Президент Республики Казахстан, Prezident Respu ...
by the
Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USS ...
. He supported Russian President
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
against the attempted coup in August 1991 by Soviet hardliners. Nazarbayev was close enough to Soviet general secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...
for Gorbachev to consider him for the post of
Vice President of the Soviet Union The Constitution of the Soviet Union recognised the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the earlier Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Congress of Soviets as the highest organs of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...
; however, Nazarbayev turned the offer down. However, on 29 July, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Nazarbayev discussed and decided that once the
New Union Treaty The New Union Treaty (russian: link=no, Новый союзный договор, Novyy soyuznyy dogovor) was a draft treaty that would have replaced the 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the USSR to salvage and reform the Soviet Union. A ceremony ...
was signed, Nazarbayev would replace
Valentin Pavlov Valentin Sergeyevich Pavlov (russian: Валéнтин Серге́евич Па́влов; 27 September 1937 – 30 March 2003) was a Soviet official who became a Russian banker following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Born in the c ...
as
Premier of the Soviet Union The Premier of the Soviet Union (russian: Глава Правительства СССР) was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The office had four different names throughout its existence: Chairman of th ...
. The Soviet Union disintegrated following the failed coup, though Nazarbayev was highly concerned with maintaining the close economic ties between Kazakhstan and Russia. In the country's first presidential election, held on 1 December, he appeared alone on the ballot and won 95% of the vote. On 21 December, he signed the
Alma-Ata Protocol The Alma-Ata Protocols were the founding declarations and principles of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus had agreed to the Belovezh Accords on 8 December 1991, dissolving the Soviet Union ...
, taking Kazakhstan into the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010 ...
.


Presidency (1990–2019)


1991–1999: First term

Nazarbayev renamed the former State Defense Committees as the
Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
and appointed Sagadat Nurmagambetov as Defense Minister on 7 May 1992. The
Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USS ...
, under the leadership of Chairman Serikbolsyn Abdilin, began debating over a draft constitution in June 1992. Opposition political parties Azat,
Jeltoqsan , partof = Dissolution of the Soviet Union , image = , caption = , date = 16–19 December 1986 , place = Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union , coordinates = , map_type = , latitude = , longitude = , ...
and the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
, held demonstrations in
Alma-Ata Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...
from 10 to 17 June 1992 calling for the formation of a
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
, resignation of Sergey Tereshchenko's government and the
Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USS ...
which, at that time, was composed of former Communist Party legislators who had yet to stand in an election. The Constitution, adopted on 28 January 1993, created a strong
executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ...
with limited checks on executive power. On 10 December 1993, the Supreme Soviet voted to dissolve itself and that same day, a presidential decree was signed which set changes in local representative and executive bodies with elections of the
mäslihat A Maslikhat () is a local representative body ( parliament) in Kazakhstan that is elected by a population of a region, district and city. Functions The maslikhats operate at the level of regional and municipality, as well as at the local leve ...
s (local legislatures) taking place every 5 years and äkims (local heads) being appointed by the president. In March 1994, Kazakhstan for the first time since independence, held a legislative election which was boycotted by the Azat and Jeltoqsan parties. From there, the pro-presidential
People's Union of Kazakhstan Unity People's Union of Kazakhstan Unity was a big tent political party in Kazakhstan founded in 1993 and dissolved in 1999 when it was incorporated into the Fatherland and later the Nur Otan party. Notable members * Akezhan Kazhegeldin (Prime Minis ...
party won a majority of 30 seats with
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...
candidates who were on presidential-list won 42 seats. The OSCE observers called the elections unfair, reporting an inflated voter turnout. Nevertheless, the new composition of the Parliament was considered to be "professional" with different various
political faction A political faction is a group of individuals that share a common political purpose but differs in some respect to the rest of the entity. A faction within a group or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, "parties within a party," ...
s that functioned. In May 1994, the Surpeme Council passed a
vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
against Prime Minister
Sergey Tereshchenko Sergey Alexandrovych Tereshchenko (russian: Сергей Александрович Терещенко; born 30 March 1951) is a Kazakh politician. He served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 16 December 1991 to 12 October 1994. Life and ca ...
amidst political scandals evolving Tereshchenko and government ministers. Nazarbayev objected to the change, arguing that the Constitution gave the president the right to appoint the PM with already existing parliamentary confirmation regardless of the motion of confidence. However, he eventually backed down, dismissing Tereshchenko's government in October 1994 and appointing ethnic-Kazakh
Akezhan Kazhegeldin Akejan Kajegeldin ( kz, Әкежан Мағжанұлы Қажыгелдин, ''Äkejan Mağjanūly Qajygeldin''; born 27 March 1952) is a Kazakh politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 12 October 1994 until his resign ...
as the new PM. In 1994, Nazarbayev suggested relocating the capital city from
Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...
to
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
, and the official changeover of the capital happened on 10 December 1997. In March 1995, the Constitutional Court ruled that 1994 legislative elections were held unconstitutionally and as a result, Nazarbayev dissolved the Supreme Council. From that period, all bills were adopted on the basis of presidential decrees such as outlawing any civic participation in an unregistered and/or illegal public association who would be punished with 15-day jail sentence or fines from 5–10 times the minimum monthly wage in an effort "to fight organized crime." An April 1995 referendum extended Nazarbayev's term, originally set to end in 1996, to until 2000. In August 1995, a referendum was held which allowed for greater presidential powers and established a bicameral
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
as well. Both the elections for Mazhilis (lower house) and the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
(upper house) were held in December 1995 which convened in January 1996. Nazarbayev dismissed the accusations from critics of him personally dissolving the legislature by claiming that it was under Constitutional Court's orders, saying "the law is the law, and the President is obliged to abide by the constitution, otherwise, how will we build a rule-of-law state?" and that the cancellation of the 1996 presidential elections was made by the decision of the
Assembly of People of Kazakhstan The Assembly of People of Kazakhstan (; ) is a national political body in Kazakhstan consisting of delegates of the Regional Assemblies of the People. Its task is to represent the various ethnic groups that make up the Central Asian state at n ...
arguing that "Western schemes do not work in our Eurasian expanses." In October 1997, Nazarbayev dismissed Prime Minister
Akezhan Kazhegeldin Akejan Kajegeldin ( kz, Әкежан Мағжанұлы Қажыгелдин, ''Äkejan Mağjanūly Qajygeldin''; born 27 March 1952) is a Kazakh politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 12 October 1994 until his resign ...
from his post, to which according to political experts was seen as a "power grab". In his address, he criticized Kazhegeldin over his record reforms and in his place, Nazarbayev appointed
Nurlan Balgimbayev Nurlan Utebovich Balgimbayev ( kz, Нұрлан Өтепұлы Балғымбаев, ''Nūrlan Ötepūly Balğymbaev''; 20 November 1947 – 14 October 2015) was a Kazakh politician who served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 10 October 1997 t ...
, an oil engineer who prior served as an Oil and Gas Minister.


1999–2006: Second term

On 7 October 1998, a number of amendments were made to the Constitution of Kazakhstan in which the term of office of the president was increased from 5 to 7 years as well as term limits. The changes also removed restriction on the maximum required age of a presidential candidate. The following day on 8 October, Nazarbayev signed decree setting the election date for January 1999. He was reelected for second term by winning 81% of the vote, defeating his main challenger and former Surpeme Council chairman
Serikbolsyn Abdildin Serikbolsyn Abdildauly Abdildin ( kk, Серікболсын Әбділдаұлы Әбділдин, ''Serikbolsyn Ábdildauly Ábdildın''; 25 November 1937 – 31 December 2019) was a Kazakh economist, politician, First Secretary of the Communis ...
. Abdildin himself in response refused to acknowledge the official results, insisting that they were falsified. In February 1999, several pro-presidential parties formed into one party named Otan. At the Founding Congress of the party which was held on 1 March 1999, Nazarbayev was elected as the chairman. From there, he suggested that former PM
Sergey Tereshchenko Sergey Alexandrovych Tereshchenko (russian: Сергей Александрович Терещенко; born 30 March 1951) is a Kazakh politician. He served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 16 December 1991 to 12 October 1994. Life and ca ...
should take over the leading role, noting the constitutional limits on president's affiliation with political parties while Nazarbayev himself remained as ''de-facto'' party leader. In July 1999, Nazarbayev signed decree setting the date for the legislative elections. The Otan, for the first time, participated in the elections, winning 23 seats. In the aftermath on 1 October 1999, Nazarbayev appointed
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
as the PM after his predecessor
Nurlan Balgimbayev Nurlan Utebovich Balgimbayev ( kz, Нұрлан Өтепұлы Балғымбаев, ''Nūrlan Ötepūly Balğymbaev''; 20 November 1947 – 14 October 2015) was a Kazakh politician who served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 10 October 1997 t ...
had faced an increasing unpopularity amidst worsening economy and scandal revolving around an arms deal with
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
. Nazarbayev appointed
Altynbek Sarsenbayev Altynbek Sarsenbayuly ( kk, Алтынбек Сәрсенбайұлы, ''Altynbek Särsenbaiūly''; 12 September 1962 – 11 February 2006) was a Kazakh politician who served in the Government of Kazakhstan before becoming a political oppositi ...
, who at the time served as the Minister of Culture, Information and Concord, the Secretary of the Security Council, replacing
Marat Tazhin Marat Mukhanbetkazyuly Tajin ( kk, Марат Мұханбетқазыұлы Тәжин, ''Marat Mūhanbetqazyūly Täjin''; born 8 April 1960) is a Kazakh politician. He served as the Foreign Minister in the Government of Kazakhstan from 2007 to ...
, on 4 May 2001. Tazhin became the Chairman of the National Security Committee, replacing Alnur Mussayev. Mussayev became the head of the Presidential Security Service. In January 2002, Prime Minister
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
resigned from his post and was subsequently appointed as the
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
and State Secretary. Imangali Tasmagambetov took over Tokayev's role as the new PM which viewed as a response towards a political crisis which occurred following the formation of the
Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстанның демократиялық таңдауы, Qazaqstannyñ demokratialyq tañdauy, QDT; russian: Демократический выбор Казахстана, DVK) is a political par ...
in November 2001 by several prominent Kazakh officials who called for political and democratic reforms. Tasmagambetov's government was short-lived, facing opposition by the
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
over his proposed policies on land privatisation which led to a
motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
against him. Tasmagambetov resigned in June 2003 and Nazarbayev appointed Daniyal Akhmetov to lead the government citing the reason "to intensify the pace of social and economic development."


2006–2011: Third term

In June 2000, the Constitutional Council announced its resolution which declared that Nazarbayev's second term–was in fact–his first due to the adaptation of the new Kazakh Constitution which took place in 1995 during Nazarbayev's first term. This allowed gave him the opportunity to run for another election as his term was set to end in 2007. On 4 December 2005, new
presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
were held where Nazarbayev won by an overwhelming majority of 91.15% (from a total of 6,871,571 eligible participating voters). Nazarbayev was sworn in for another seven-year term on 11 January 2006. In 2006, the Otan increased its ranks as all pro-presidential parties began merging into one. Nazarbayev supported the move, stating the need for there to be fewer, but stronger parties that "efficiently defend the interests of the population." In December 2006, the Otan renamed itself into Nur Otan and on 4 July 2007, Nazarbayev was re-elected as the party's chairman. Amidst the political shakeup, Nazarbayev dismissed Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov in January 2007 and appointed Deputy PM
Karim Massimov Karim Qazhymqanuly Massimov ( kk, Кәрім Қажымқанұлы Мәсімов, ; born 15 June 1965)On 18 May 2007, the
Parliament of Kazakhstan The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Парламенті, Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Parlamentı; rus, Парламент Республики Казахстан, r=Parliament Res ...
approved a
constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...
which allowed the incumbent president—himself—to run for an unlimited number of five-year terms. This amendment applied specifically and only to Nazarbayev: the original constitution's prescribed maximum of two five-year terms will still apply to all future presidents of Kazakhstan. That same year in August, legislative elections were held from which the Nur Otan won all the contested seats in the Mazhilis, eliminating any form of opposition which sparked controversy and criticism from international organizations and groups within the country. In response, Kazakhstan introduced an amendment by allowing for a
two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually refe ...
since any party that wins 2nd place in race–regardless or not if it passes the 7%
electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
–would be guaranteed to have representation in the Parliament. Nazarbayev has always emphasized the role of education in the nation's social development. In order to make education affordable, on 13 January 2009, he introduced educational grant "Orken" for the talented youth of Kazakhstan. This decree was amended on 23 September 2016. In 2009, former UK Cabinet Minister
Jonathan Aitken Jonathan William Patrick Aitken (born 30 August 1942) is a British author, Church of England priest, former prisoner and former Conservative Party politician. Beginning his career in journalism, he was elected to Parliament in 1974 (serving u ...
released a biography of the Kazakh leader entitled ''Nazarbayev and the Making of Kazakhstan''. The book took a generally pro-Nazarbayev stance, asserting in the introduction that he is mostly responsible for the success of modern Kazakhstan.


2011–2015: Fourth term

In April 2011, Nazarbayev ran for a fourth term, winning 95.5% of the vote with virtually no opposition candidates. Following his victory, he announced the need in finding an "optimal way of empowering parliament, increasing the government's responsibility and improving the electoral process." On 11 June 2011, Daniel Witt, Vice Chairman of the Eurasia Foundation, acknowledged the role of Nazarbayev and his political reforms:
" residentNazarbayev has led Kazakhstan through difficult times and into an era of prosperity and growth. He has demonstrated that he values his U.S. and Western alliances and is committed to achieving democratic governance."
In December 2011, opponents of Nazarbayev rioted in Mangystau, described by the BBC as the biggest opposition movement of his time in power. On 16 December 2011, demonstrations in the oil town of
Zhanaozen Zhanaozen ( kk, Jañaözen, , pronounced �ɑŋɑøˈzʲen, formerly known as Novy Uzen (russian: Новый Узень), is a city in the Mangystau Region of Kazakhstan located south-east of the city of Aktau. The name of the town means "new ...
clashed with police on the country's Independence Day. Fifteen people were shot dead by security forces and almost 100 people were injured. Protests quickly spread to other cities but then died down. The subsequent trial of demonstrators uncovered mass abuse and
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...
of detainees. On 24 September 2012, Nazarbayev appointed Serik Akhmetov as the PM, a close-ally of Nazarbayev who served as First Deputy PM under Massimov's cabinet and the Äkim of Karaganda Region. Massimov in turn, became the new head of the
Presidential Administration The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, administration can be described as a decision making body. United States In American usage, the ter ...
. In December 2012, Nazarbayev outlined a forward-looking national strategy called the
Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uz ...
. In 2014, Nazarbayev suggested that Kazakhstan should change its name to "Kazakh Eli" ("Country of the Kazakhs"), for the country to attract better and more foreign investment, since "Kazakhstan" by its name is associated with other " -stan" countries. Nazarbayev noted
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
receives more investment than Kazakhstan because it is not a "-stan" country, even though it is in the same neighborhood, and not as stable as Kazakhstan. However, he noted that decision should be decided by the people on whether the country should change its name. After Kazakhstan faced an economic downturn of which was caused by low oil prices and devaluation of the tenge, Nazarbayev on 2 April 2014 dismissed PM Serik Akhmetov and reappointed
Karim Massimov Karim Qazhymqanuly Massimov ( kk, Кәрім Қажымқанұлы Мәсімов, ; born 15 June 1965)Massimov's government was aimed at dealing with the economic crisis.


2015–2019: Fifth and final term

Nazarbayev for the last time ran again in the 2015 presidential election for the fifth term. From there, he gathered 97.7% of the vote share, making it one of the biggest in Kazakhstan's history. In his victory speech, he empathized the top priority in
Nurly Zhol Nurly Zhol () is a US$9 billion domestic economic stimulus plan to develop and modernize roads, railways, ports, IT infrastructure, and education and civil services in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Nurly Zhol plan was announced by Kazakhstan's ...
stimulus package that was designed in softening the social blow caused by an economic troubles. At a later news conference, Nazarbayev speaking about the electoral results remarked, "I apologize that for superdemocratic states such figures are unacceptable. But I could do nothing. If I had interfered, I would have looked undemocratic, right?” The
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
criticized the election as falling short of international democratic standards. In early 2016, it was announced that 1.7 million hectares of agricultural land would be sold at auction. This sparked rare protests around the country which called for Nazarbayev to stop the momentum on land sales and solve the nation's problems as well. In response to the fears of the lands being sold to foreigners especially Chinese, Nazarbayev fired back at claims, calling them "groundless" and warned that any provocateur would be punished. On 1 May 2016, at the
Kazakhstan People's Unity Day Kazakhstan People's Unity Day ( kz, Қазақстан халқының бірлігі мерекесі, Qazaqstan xalqynyń birligi merekesi), also known as Unity Day, is a Public holiday in Kazakhstan which celebrates the Kazakh people and the Ka ...
, Nazarbayev warned that without unity and stability, a crisis similarly in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
would happen. In June 2016, armed attacks in Aktobe took place resulting in deaths of 25 people. Nazarbayev called the incident as terrorist attacks which were orchestrated from abroad to destabilize the country similarly in a
colour revolution Colour revolution (sometimes coloured revolution) is a term used since around 2004 by worldwide media to describe various anti-regime protest movements and accompanying (attempted or successful) changes of government that took place in pos ...
to which he accused of being infiltrated by the
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
militants.On 8 September 2016, Nazarbayev appointed
Karim Massimov Karim Qazhymqanuly Massimov ( kk, Кәрім Қажымқанұлы Мәсімов, ; born 15 June 1965)National Security Committee Chairman and Bakhytzhan Sagintayev to the post of the PM. Days later on 13 September, Nazarbayev's daughter Dariga was appointed as the member of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. This suggested that Nazarbayev was preparing for his succession to be taken over by Dariga as the cabinet reshuffling had occurred after Uzbek President Islam Karimov's death which created political uncertainty in the neighboring country. Nazarbayev dismissed the claims of hereditary succession in an interview to the
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...
in November 2016, saying that the "transfer of power is spelled out by the Constitution." In January 2017, Nazarbayev proposed constitutional reforms, which would allow for the
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
to have greater role in decision making, calling it "a consistent and logical step in the development of the state". The Parliament approved several amendments to the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
on 5 March 2017, making the president no longer able to override parliamentary votes of no-confidence, while giving the legislative branch to form a government cabinet, implementing state programs and policies. The move was seen as way by Nazarbayev to ensure the potential of a peaceful transfer of power. Nazarbayev, along with seventeen heads of state and government from around the world, which included
Felipe VI of Spain Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and ...
and leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries, consisting of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India, attended the opening ceremony of Expo 2017 which was held in
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
. An estimated 3.86 million people visited the site with Nazarbayev at the closing ceremony on 10 September 2017 calling it as "Kazakhstan's most brilliant achievements since its independence." Senate Chairman
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
, in an interview to
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...
in June 2018, suggested that Nazarbayev's term presidential from 2015 was in fact, the last one as he hinted the possibility that Nazarbayev would not run for re-election which was scheduled for 2020. Minister of Information and Communications
Dauren Abaev Dauren Askerbekuly Abaev (born 18 April 1979) is a Kazakh politician, who's serving as a Minister of Culture and Sports. Biography Abaev was born in the Almaty Region in 1979. He graduated from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in 2001. In 2 ...
responded to Tokayev's statements claiming that "there's still a lot of time" for Nazarbayev to decide on whether to run for re-election pointing out that the decision will be primarily based on his. He also added that the country would only benefit if Nazarbayev chooses to run for sixth term.


Resignation

On 19 March 2019, following unusually persistent
protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
in cities across the country, Nazarbayev announced his resignation as President of Kazakhstan, citing the need for "a new generation of leaders". The announcement was broadcast in a televised address in
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
after which he signed a decree ending his powers from 20 March 2019. He is the only President of Kazakhstan to resign from office.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
, speaker of the upper house of parliament, was appointed as
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the country until the end of the presidential term. His resignation as president was viewed notwithstanding, as he continued in heading the ruling Nur Otan party and remains a member of the Constitutional Council. In his televised address Nazarbayev pointed out that he had been granted the honorary status of ''elbasy'' (leader of the nation, leader of the people), the title bestowed upon him by parliament in 2010. Various colleagues of Nazarbayev reacted within hours of the announcement, with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev holding a telephone conversation with Nazarbayev, calling him a "great politician". In a cabinet meeting, Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
praised Nazarbayev's leadership, even going as far as to say that the Eurasian Economic Union was Nazarbayev's "brainchild". Other world leaders who sent messages to Nazarbayev included
Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...
,
President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of Azerbaijan. The Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and foreign policies" ...
,
Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...
,
President of Belarus The president of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Прэзідэнт Рэспублікі Беларусь; russian: Президент Республики Беларусь) is the head of state and head of government of Belarus. The office was ...
, and Emomali Rahmon,
President of Tajikistan The president of Tajikistan is the head of state and de facto head of government of the Republic of Tajikistan. The president heads the executive branch of the country's federal government and is the supreme commander in chief of the Armed Fo ...
. According to Nazarbayev himself, he described his intention for stepping down was due to "peak of trust" by the people and that it was "necessary to leave", recalling his memories in attending funerals of Soviet leaders
Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1 ...
,
Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (– 9 February 1984) was the sixth paramount leader of the Soviet Union and the fourth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year rule, Andropov served in the ...
and
Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko uk, Костянтин Устинович Черненко, translit=Kostiantyn Ustynovych Chernenko (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the seventh General Secretary of the Commu ...
, embarking that "there is still a limit of human capabilities."


Allegations of corruption

Over the course of Nazarbayev's presidency, an increasing number of accusations of corruption and favoritism have been directed against Nazarbayev and his circle. Critics say that the country's government has come to resemble a clan system. According to ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', in 1999 Swiss banking officials discovered $85,000,000 in an account apparently belonging to Nazarbayev; the money, intended for the Kazakh treasury, had in part been transferred through accounts linked to
James Giffen James Henry Giffen (March 22, 1941 – October 29, 2022) was an American businessman and an authority on American-Soviet trade. He was the founder and chairman of Mercator Corporation. Giffen was the prime suspect accused in the $80 million Kazakh ...
. Subsequently, Nazarbayev successfully pushed for a parliamentary bill granting him legal immunity, as well as another designed to legalise money laundering, angering critics further. When Kazakh opposition newspaper '' Respublika'' reported in 2002 that Nazarbayev had in the mid-1990s secretly stashed away $1,000,000,000 of state oil revenue in Swiss bank accounts, the decapitated carcass of a dog was left outside the newspaper's offices, with a warning reading "There won't be a next time"; the dog's head later turned up outside editor
Irina Petrushova Irina Petrushova (russian: Ирина Петрушова; born 1965) is a Russian journalist, founder and editor-in-chief of the weekly '' Respublika'' in Kazakhstan. After a series of stories exposing government corruption, her life was threaten ...
's apartment, with a warning reading "There will be no last time." The newspaper was firebombed as well. In May 2007, the
Parliament of Kazakhstan The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Парламенті, Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Parlamentı; rus, Парламент Республики Казахстан, r=Parliament Res ...
approved a constitutional amendment which would allow Nazarbayev to seek re-election as many times as he wishes. This amendment applies specifically and only to Nazarbayev, since it states that the first president will have no limits on how many times he can run for office, but subsequent presidents will be restricted to a five-year term. , Kazakhstan has never held an election meeting international standards. In May 2018, the Parliament of Kazakhstan passed a constitutional amendment allowing Nazarbayev to serve as Chairman of the Security Council for life. These reforms, which were approved by the Constitutional Council on 28 June, also expanded the powers of the Security Council, granting it the status of a constitutional body. The amendment states that, "The decisions of the security council and the chairman of the security council are mandatory and are subject to strict execution by state bodies, organisations and officials of the Republic of Kazakhstan." In December 2020, according to an investigative report by
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
, it was identified at least $785 million in European and U.S. real estate purchases made by Nazarbaev's family members and their in-laws in six countries over a 20-year span. This figure includes a handful of properties that have since been sold, including multimillion-dollar apartments in the United States bought by Nazarbaev's brother, Bolat. It does not include a sprawling Spanish estate owned by Kulibaev, for which a purchase price could not be found.


Domestic policy


Economic issues

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan faced mass unemployment and emigration. Nazarbayev was viewed to have followed Russia's economic reforms starting with price liberalisations. On 3 January 1992, he signed a decree "On measures to liberalise prices", an attempt to stabilise the country's socio-economic situation and form a
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
within Kazakhstan. This resulted in a rapid inflation of goods, causing discontent amongst citizens, thus forcing Nazarbayev on 12 January to sign a "On additional measures for social protection of the population in the context of price liberalisation" which established partial state-regulated prices on bread, bakery products and flour. Throughout the 1990s, privatisation and banking reforms took place in Kazakhstan. In June 1994, Nazarbayev amended the
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
's Economic Memorandum for the next three years, which has been defined as an economic strategy. It included strict measures to reform the economy and establish macroeconomic stability and set the task of carrying out rapid and vigorous privatization. During the introduction of the
National Bank of Kazakhstan is the central bank of Kazakhstan. History The National Bank of Kazakhstan was established on the basis of the Kazakh Republican Bank of the State Bank of the USSR (since 1990 - the State Bank of the Kazakh SSR, since 1991 - the National State Ba ...
in December 1993, significant changes were made in which all specialized banks were transformed into a joint stock company, and the National Bank was granted a number of powers. In March 1995, Nazarbayev signed decree setting the National Bank as an independent entity that is accountable only for the head of state. Kazakhstan managed to avoid full impact from the
1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...
and
1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the ruble and defaulting on its debt. The crisis had ...
, due to lack of high liquid investments. Nazarbayev pledged for to continue in advancing for an "independent, open and free market economy." Starting from early 2000's, the Kazakh economy faced huge growth thanks to its development in energy sector and high oil prices. Nazarbayev published his manifesto: ''Prosperity, Security and the Ever-Growing Welfare of all Kazakhstanis'' in 2000, where he wrote that "today we are building a new state, a new market economy and a new democracy, and this–at the very time when many other independent states have already trodden that path similar enough." Following the
Financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of ...
, Nazarbayev assured the nation in October 2008 that it would deal with the crisis by introducing a rescue package amounted to 10% of the country's GDP, of which was funded thanks in part to the national sovereign wealth fund. In his state of address on 6 March 2009, he announced 350,000 jobs for workers in the spheres of infrastructure projects as well as the creation of the Eurasian Land Bridge. Since 2014, Nazarbayev has set strategic priority in Kazakhstan for economic diversification which would maintain the country's stability by avoiding the effects from its oil export reliance that would affect the economy through its constant price downfalls.


=Eurasian Economic Union

= In 1994, Nazarbayev suggested the idea of creating a "Eurasian Union" during a speech at
Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
. On 29 May 2014, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President
Aleksandr Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...
, Nazarbayev signed the founding treaty of the Eurasian Union (EEU) in Astana, paving the way for the transition from their current customs union to the full-fledged EEU on January 1, 2015. Nazarbayev named Honorary Chairman of Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in May 2019.


=Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy

= Nazarbayev unveiled in his 2012 State of the Nation the
Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uz ...
, a long-term strategy to ensure future growth prospects of Kazakhstan, and position Kazakhstan as one of the top 30 most developed nations in the world.


=Nurly Zhol

= President Nazarbayev unveiled in 2014 a multibillion-dollar domestic modernization and reformation plan called ''Nurly Zhol - The Path to the Future''. It was officially approved by the Decree of the President on 6 April 2015. The goal of the plan was for development and improvement of tourist, industrial and housing infrastructure, create 395,500 new jobs, and increase the GDP growth rate 15.7 by 2019. In March 2019, it was announced that the program would be extended to 2025 with its new agenda being focused on developing road infrastructure. According to Minister of Infrastructure and Development
Beibut Atamkulov Beibut Atamkulov ( kk, Бейбіт Бәкірұлы Атамқұлов, ''Beibıt Bäkırūly Atamqūlov''; born 19 May 1964) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat currently serving as the Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development. He ...
, it is planned that 27,000 kilometres of local roads will be repaired, with 21,000 kilometers of national roads being reconstructed and repaired.


=Digital Kazakhstan

= President Nazarbayev unveiled this technological modernization initiative to increase Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness through the digital ecosystem development.


Environmental issues

In his 1998 autobiography, Nazarbayev wrote that "The shrinking of the
Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic lake lying between Kazak ...
, because of its scope, is one of the most serious ecological disasters being faced by our planet today. It is not an exaggeration to put it on the same level as the destruction of the
Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
." He called on
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
,
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
,
Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
,
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
, and the wider world to do more to reverse the environmental damage done during the Soviet era.


Nuclear disarmament

Kazakhstan inherited from the Soviet Union the world's fourth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons. Within four years of independence, Kazakhstan possessed zero nuclear weapons. In one of the new government's first major decisions, Nazarbayev closed the Soviet nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk (Semei), where 456 nuclear tests had been conducted by the Soviet military. During the Soviet era, over 500 military experiments with nuclear weapons were conducted by scientists in the Kazakhstan region, mostly at the Semipalatinsk Test Site, causing radiation sickness and birth defects. As the influence of the Soviet Union waned, Nazarbayev closed the site. He later claimed that he had encouraged Olzhas Suleimenov's
anti-nuclear movement in Kazakhstan The anti-nuclear movement in Kazakhstan, "Nevada Semipalatinsk", was formed in 1989 and was one of the first major anti-nuclear movements in the former Soviet Union. It was led by author Olzhas Suleimenov and attracted thousands of people to its ...
, and was always fully committed to the group's goals. In what was dubbed " Project Sapphire", the Kazakhstan and United States governments worked closely together to dismantle former Soviet weapons stored in the country, with the Americans agreeing to fund over $800,000,000 in transportation and "compensation" costs. Nazarbayev encouraged the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
to establish 29 August as the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. In his article he has proposed a new Non-Proliferation Treaty "that would guarantee clear obligations on the part of signatory governments and define real sanctions for those who fail to observe the terms of the agreement." His foreign minister signed a treaty authorizing the
Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone The Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ) treaty is a legally binding commitment by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan not to manufacture, acquire, test, or possess nuclear weapons. The treaty was signed on 8 ...
on 8 September 2006. In an oped in ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughou ...
'', Nazarbayev called for the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty to be modernized and better balanced. In March 2016, Nazarbayev released his "Manifesto: The World. The 21st century." In this manifest he called for expanding and replicating existing nuclear-weapon-free zones and stressed the need to modernise existing international disarmament treaties.


Religion

Nazarbayev put forward the initiative of holding a forum of world and traditional religions in
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
. Earlier the organisers of similar events were only representatives of leading religions and denominations. Among other similar events aimed at establishing interdenominational dialogue were the meetings of representatives of world religions and denominations held in
Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and '' comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born arou ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, in October 1986 and January 2002. The first Congress of World and Traditional Religions which gathered in 2003 allowed the leaders of all major religions to develop prospects for mutual cooperation. Nazarbayev initially espoused
anti-religious Antireligion is opposition to religion. It involves opposition to organized religion, religious practices or religious institutions. The term ''antireligion'' has also been used to describe opposition to specific forms of supernatural worship ...
views during the Soviet era;Ideology and National Identity in Post-Communist Foreign Policies By Rick Fawn, p. 147 he later made attempts to support
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
heritage by performing the
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
pilgrimage, and supporting mosque renovations. Under the leadership of Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan enacted some degrees of multiculturalism in order to retain and attract talents from diverse ethnic groups among its citizenry, and even from nations that are developing ties of cooperation with the country, in order to coordinate human resources onto the state-guided path of global market economic participation. This principle of the Kazakh leadership has earned it the name "Singapore of the Steppes". However, in 2012, Nazarbayev proposed reforms, which were later enacted by the parliament, imposing stringent restrictions on religious practices. Religious groups were required to re-register, or face closure. The initiative was explained as an attempt to combat extremism. However, under the new law, many minority religious groups are deemed illegal. In order to exist on a local level, a group must have more than 50 members: more than 500 on a regional level, and more than 5,000 on the national level.


Nationalism

In 2014, Vladimir Putin's remarks regarding the historicity of Kazakhstan, in which he stated that Nazarbayev "created a state on a territory that never had a state ... Kazakhs never had any statehood, he has created it" led to a severe response from Nazarbayev. Four years later, in February 2018, Reuters reported that "Kazakhstan further loosened cultural ties with its former political masters in Moscow ... when a ban on speaking Russian in cabinet meetings took effect ... azarbayevhas also ordered all parliamentary hearings to be held in Kazakh, saying those who are not fluent must be provided with simultaneous translations."


Human rights record

Kazakhstan's human rights situation under Nazarbayev is uniformly described as poor by independent observers.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
says that "Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly, speech, and religion. In 2014, authorities closed newspapers, jailed or fined dozens of people after peaceful but unsanctioned protests, and fined or detained worshippers for practicing religion outside state controls. Government critics, including opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov, remained in detention after unfair trials. In mid-2014, Kazakhstan adopted new criminal, criminal executive, criminal procedural, and administrative codes, and a new law on trade unions, which contain articles restricting fundamental freedoms and are incompatible with international standards. Torture remains common in places of detention."
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

World Report 2015: Kazakhstan
. Retrieved October 2015.
Kazakhstan is ranked 161 out of 180 countries on the
World Press Freedom Index The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to re ...
, compiled by
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
.


Rule of law

According to a US government report released in 2014, in Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan's global rank in the
World Justice Project The World Justice Project (WJP) is an international civil society organization with the stated mission of "working to advance the rule of law around the world". It produces the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, a quantitative assessment ...
's 2015 Rule of Law Index was 65 out of 102; the country scored well on "Order and Security" (global rank 32/102), and poorly on "Constraints on Government Powers" (global rank 93/102), "Open Government" (85/102) and "Fundamental Rights" (84/102, with a downward trend marking a deterioration in conditions).Kazakhstan's global rank
in the
World Justice Project The World Justice Project (WJP) is an international civil society organization with the stated mission of "working to advance the rule of law around the world". It produces the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, a quantitative assessment ...
's 2020 Rule of Law Index rose and was 62 out 128. Its global rank on "Order and Security" remained high (39/128) and low on "Constraints on Government Powers" (102/128), "Open Government" (81/128) and "Fundamental Rights" (100/128). The National plan "100 concrete steps" introduced by President Nazarbayev included measures to reform the court system of Kazakhstan, including the introduction of mandatory jury trials for certain categories of crimes (Step 21) and the creation of local police service (Step 30). The implementation of the national plan resulted in Kazakhstan's transition from a five-tier judicial system to a three-tier one in early 2016 yet it severely restricted access to the cassation review of cases by the Supreme Court. However, the expansion of jury trials has not been implemented. Furthermore, Nazarbayev abolished the local police service in 2018 following the public outrage over the murder of Denis Ten in downtown
Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...
.


Foreign policy

During Nazarbayev's presidency the main principle of Kazakhstan's international relations was multi-vector foreign policy, which was based on initiatives to establish friendly relations with foreign partners. His government's policies were considered moderate by maintaining a balance between the world powers of
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
. From 1990 to 1994, Nazarbayev paid official visits to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
and other nations. By 1996, 120 nations had recognized Kazakhstan, and it had established diplomatic relations with 92 countries. The first major diplomatic initiatives by Nazarbayev were dealing with strategic issues, such as obtaining international security guarantees in the aftermath of
nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space * Nuclea ...
as a result of pressure from Western nations. Nazarbayev called on
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
to conclude a non-aggression pact with Kazakhstan that would also guarantee the country's sovereignty. On 5 December 1994, Russia, U.S., and U.K. signed the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances to Kazakhstan based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Later, the governments of China and France added their signatures to the Memorandum. Kazakhstan under Nazarbayev became co-founders of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation russian: Шанхайская Организация Сотрудничества , image = , caption = , logo = SCO logo.svg , logo_size = 160px , map = Shanghai Cooperati ...
in 2001. In January 2019, Zimbabwean President
Emmerson Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (, US: (); born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe, he held a ...
conducted a state visit to
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
to meet with Nazarbayev, in the first visit by an African leader to the country in years. This would be the last foreign head of state that Nazarbayev would receive while in office. Nazarbayev's last state visit to a foreign country took place five days prior to his resignation, visiting the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.


China

Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and China were established in January 1992, with Chinese Premier
Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...
visiting the country in April 1994 where he met with Nazarbayev. From there, both nations signed boundary agreement on 26 April and then later during Peng's second visit to
Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...
, an additional agreement on the border between two countries was signed on 24 September 1997. In December 2002, during Nazarbayev's visit to China, an agreement "On good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation between China and Kazakhstan" and "On cooperation between the two countries to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism" were signed. In May 2004, a total of ten trade and economic cooperation agreements were signed which included a major Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline that would connect western Kazakhstan and China with John C. K. Daly from the Jamestown Foundation describing it as "a symbolic link between two of the 21st century’s rising powers, joining a booming producer with a cash-flush consumer." A construction of the expansion project was fully completed in 2009.


Iran

In a speech given in December 2006 marking the fifteenth anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence, Nazarbayev stated he wished to join with Iran in support of a single currency for all Central Asian states and intended to push the idea forward with the President of Iran,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
, on an upcoming visit. In one of his speeches however, Nazarbayev criticised Iran as one of the countries that provides support for terrorism. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry however, released a statement on 19 December, saying his remarks were not "what he really meant," and his comments were "mistakes.". Retrieved 3 February 2011. During an announcement of a railway link in 2007, Nazarbayev expressed a religious solidarity with Iran, as he was quoted as saying, "Today I will pay a visit to Turkmenistan where we will agree on the construction of a railway through Kazakhstan and
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
to Iran with access to the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
. This will bring us closer to our
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
brothers."


Israel

Notwithstanding Kazakhstan's membership in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...
), under Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan had good relations with
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Diplomatic relations were established in 1992 and Nazarbayev paid official visits to Israel in 1995 and 2000. Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $724 million in 2005. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
conducted his first ever visit to Kazakhstan in mid-December 2016, when he met with Nazarbayev. The two countries signed agreements on research and development, aviation, civil service commissions and agricultural cooperation, as well as a declaration on establishing an agricultural consortium.


United States

Nazarbayev made his first state visit to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
on 18–20 May 1992 where he met with U.S. President George H. W. Bush. Both sides have expressed interests to develop friendly, cooperative relations and for both countries to strengthen international peace and stability with an early ratification of the
START II START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed by US President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Ye ...
treaty. In order to gain investments to Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev, during his visit, signed an agreement with
Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened to Socal or CalSo), it is headquartered in S ...
which obliged to develop the
Tengiz Field Tengiz field ( kk, Теңіз мұнай кен орны, ''Teñız mūnai ken orny''; Tengiz is Turkic for "sea") is an oil field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea. It covers ...
that would extract 700,000 barrels of oil per day with a revenue of more than $5 billion a year. In September 2006, he met with President George W. Bush in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
where Nazarbayev received praise from Bush for his support during the U.S. led
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
and Kazakhstan's an important oil supplier for the U.S. Nazarbayev proclaimed that "in economics, in energy partnership, in policy, in war on terror, we truly become close partners.", referring to U.S. support for Kazakhstan's independence. He also challenged for Bush and other world leaders to follow the country's suit and make their nations nuclear-free. At the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit held in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
, Nazarbayev met with President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
who remarked Kazakhstan as being "key leader" on the issues of nuclear material elimination and developing international fuel bank. At the meeting, Nazarbayev, as a gift, gave Obama a ''tumar,'' a traditional Turkic amulet for "good luck" which was eventually used later to jokingly describe the sole reason for Obama's win in the
2012 United States presidential election The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re ...
. In September 2015, during the
70th session of the UN General Assembly The 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 15 September 2015. The President of the United Nations General Assembly was from the Western European and Others Group. Organisation for the session Danish parliamentary speak ...
, Nazarbayev met with Obama in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where both leaders discussed the issues regarding the War in Donbas and the goals of finding peaceful solution based on the Minsk Protocol, as well as nuclear disarmament, fighting extremism, the situation in Afghanistan and combatting
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
. Nazarbayev thanked the U.S. for its assistance in accessing Kazakhstan into the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...
. Following months later, U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
visited Kazakhstan on 1–3 November 2015, where he offered support for Nazarbayev's 100 Concrete Steps programme. U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
lauded Nazabayev's leadership and called Kazakhstan's achievements under his presidency a "miracle" during their phone call on 30 November 2016. Nazarbayev visited Washington, D.C. in January 2018 where he met Trump at the
Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped roo ...
. From there, Trump praised Kazakhstan as "a valued partner in our efforts to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons... and prevent the North Korean regime from threatening the world with nuclear devastation" and noted the country's crucial support for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and preventing a safe haven for terrorists.


Turkey

Earliest official diplomatic contacts were established with Turkey as Kazakhstan was under the Soviet Union. In March 1991, Turkish President Turgut Özal paid a visit to capital
Alma-Ata Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...
where he met with Nazarbayev as both parties discussed issues related to the establishment and expansion of cooperation in trade, economic, scientific, technical, and cultural spheres. From there, Agreement on Cooperation between the Kazakh SSR and the Republic of Turkey was signed, making it the first international treaty for Kazakhstan. In September of that year, Nazarbayev visited
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
where a Memorandum of Understanding was signed. Following Kazakhstan's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on 16 December 1991, Turkey was among the first countries to recognize the new sovereign Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev paid his first official visit to Ankara in October 1992 to commensurate the opening of the Kazakh embassy in the capital. In spite of relations between two states taking off, Nazarbayev during the First Turkic Speaking States Summit held in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
opposed President Özal's initiatives in attempting to unite all Turkic-speaking territories into one nation. In the aftermath of
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize cont ...
, Nazarbayev vowed to extradite any persons employed at lyceums who had "links with terrorism" with the
Gülen movement The Gülen movement ( tr, Gülen hareketi), referred to by its participants as Hizmet ("service") or Cemaat ("community") and since 2016 by the Government of Turkey as FETÖ ("Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation" or, more commonly, "Fethullah T ...
by conduct a joint inspection in educational institutions located within Kazakhstan. Since 1992, trade between Kazakhstan and Turkey amounted to total more than 3 billion dollars yearly, reaching 3.5 billion in its peak in 2012 and remaining stagnant from there. During Nazarbayev's meeting with President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...
to
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
in September 2018, both leaders announced their willingness to increase tradeover to 5 billion dollars with 10 billion set in long term.


Post-presidency

According to ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'', despite his resignation, he is still behind the leadership of the country. His resignation is considered by ''
The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...
'' to be an attempt to turn him into a
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
type of public figure. In the month since his resignation, he had met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between ...
during their visit to Kazakhstan. Notably, their meetings with Nazarbayev took place separately from their meetings with President Tokayev, who is the ''de jure''
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
. Two days after leaving office, he attended the Nauryz celebrations where he was greeted by the civilian population. In regard to accommodations as the first president, it is known that his personal office (now known as ''Kökorda'') has been moved to a different location in the capital from the presidential palace. It was also reported in late April 2019 that Nazarbayev also maintains a private jet for official and private visits. He has embarked on two foreign visits since leaving office, to
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
and
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. The former visit took place during the second Belt and Road Forum while the latter took place during the 2019 Moscow Victory Day Parade. In late-May, Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (; born 5 February 1968) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey since 24 November 2015. He previously served in the same position from August 2014 to August 2015. He is ...
announced the naming of Nazarbayev as the Honorary President of the Turkic Council. On 7 September, he visited
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
once again to attend the
Moscow City Day Moscow City Day (russian: День города Москвы, Den' goroda Moskvy) is a city-wide holiday held in Moscow. It is celebrated on the first or second Saturday of September. The celebration involves free cultural events, a parade and ...
celebrations on the VDNKh and to open his pavilion at the
trade show A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...
. During a visit to the
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
i capital of
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
, he told the hosting President
Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...
that his father, former President
Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Azer ...
, would be "very delighted" with the development of the capital. In late October, he attended the Enthronement of Japanese emperor
Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession ...
as the representative of Kazakhstan. During this visit, he met with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
, during which he congratulated him on his election victory and was invited by Zelensky to visit
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
. Nazarbayev met with Spanish
tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
during his visit to Kazakhstan for a charity
tennis match The tennis scoring system is a standard widespread method for scoring tennis matches, including pick-up games. Some tennis matches are played as part of a tournament, which may have various categories, such as singles and doubles. The great majo ...
. During his meeting with Nadal, he personally called former Spanish King
Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
. In October 2019, it was announced that all potential ministerial candidates needed the approval of Nazarbayev before being appointed by Tokayev, with the exception of Minister of Defence, Interior Minister and Foreign Minister. On 29 November 2019, Nazarbayev was named the Honorary Chair of Central Asian Consultative Meeting. It was announced at the second Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia in
Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
. At the 29th Session of the
Assembly of People of Kazakhstan The Assembly of People of Kazakhstan (; ) is a national political body in Kazakhstan consisting of delegates of the Regional Assemblies of the People. Its task is to represent the various ethnic groups that make up the Central Asian state at n ...
(QHA) held on 28 April 2021, Nazarbayev announced his intention to step down as the QHA chairman and have President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
to succeed his role, describing it as an emotional "serious step". However from there, Tokayev suggested for Nazarbayev to be named as an "Honorary Chairman" by the QHA to which his statements received applause. Nazarbayev accepted the offer, promising to continue to work with the Assembly. In October 2021, during a visit to the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
, Nazarbayev awarded Crown Prince
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, مُحَمّد بِن زَايد آل نَهيَان, Moḥamed bin Zāyed Āl Nahyān; born 11 March 1961), colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the third president of the United Arab Emirates ...
the Nuclear Weapon-Free World and Global Security award for ensuring peace, regional stability and sustainable economic development. On 23 November 2021, at the Nur Otan political council meeting, it was revealed that Nazarbayev would resign from the party's leadership and suggested President Tokayev to take over the position, stressing that the Nur Otan should be led by an incumbent president. The move was met with various reactions from political analysts and activists, affirming that it would increase Tokayev's governing powers and influence over the Kazakh politics while some going as far as proclaiming it as an end to the "era of Nazarbayev". According to Nazarbayev's press secretary Aidos Ükıbai, the decision was a "logical continuation of the transit of power" with the party needing to be main support for Tokayev due to "the global crisis caused by the
pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of in ...
."


Capital renaming

On 20 March 2019, after Nazarbayev's resignation, President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
proposed renaming the capital
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
to
Nur-Sultan Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
in honor of Nazarbayev. The Parliament of Kazakhstan officially voted in favour of the renaming. However, Kazakhstan changed the name of the capital from Nur-Sultan back to Astana in September 2022.


COVID-19

Nazarbayev created the Biz Birgemiz (lit. "We are Together") Fund in March 2020 "to fight the pandemic COVID-19 effectively while supporting the economy". As of June 2020, the fund gathered over 28 billion tenge ($69.3 million) to provide financial aid to more than 470,000 families in 23 cities as part of the fund's three waves of assistance. Upon his diagnosis with COVID-19 in mid-June of that year, he received calls and telegrams of support from world leaders, including
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and King
Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of ...
as well as former
President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the President of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Predsjednik Republike Hrvatske), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within t ...
Stjepan Mesić. In June 2021, Nazarbayev received a Russian-made
Sputnik V Sputnik V (russian: Спутник V, the brand name from RDIF) or Gam-COVID-Vac (russian: Гам-КОВИД-Вак, the name under which it is legally registered and produced) is an adenovirus viral vector vaccine for COVID-19 developed by ...
vaccine against the virus. From there, he urged everyone to get vaccinated due to emergence of the new COVID-19 strains for their health, acknowledging the challenging times happening in amidst of the pandemic and wishing health and wellbeing for the public.


80th birthday

He recovered from the virus on 3 July, in time for the celebration of his 80th birthday which was held on 6 July and also coincided with the Day of the Capital City. Nazarbayev received congratulations from leader such as the Armenian President
Armen Sarkissian Armen Vardani Sarkissian ( hy, Արմեն Վարդանի Սարգսյան; also written as Sarksyan and Sargsyan) (born 23 June 1952) is an Armenian politician, physicist and computer scientist who served as the 4th president of Armenia from 9 A ...
, Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, former Tatar President
Mintimer Shaimiev Mintimer Sharipovich Shaimiev ( tt-Cyrl, Минтимер Шәрип улы Шәймиев, translit=Mintimer Şärip ulı Şäymiev; russian: Минтиме́р Шари́пович Шайми́ев; born January 20, 1937) is a Russian former p ...
and former Turkish President
Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th President of Turkey, in office from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently served as bo ...
. Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Grigory Karasin described Nazarbayev in an interview honoring his birthday as "one of the few world politicians who has a vision of political processes". The celebratory events were held virtually due to the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
pandemic in the country. A statue of Nazarbayev in military uniform was unveiled at the
National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...
(an institution that itself which bears his name).


2021 legislative campaign

While continuing to lead the Nur Otan after resigning from presidency, Nazarbayev signed a decree in the preparation of the 2021 legislative elections on 4 June 2020 setting the date of closed primaries would be held within the party "for open and political competition, promote civic engagement in the political process, and empower women and the youth of the country" to which he instructed for the party to include 30% of women and 20% of people under the age of 35 in its
list A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
. The primaries were held from 17 August to 3 October 2020 where Nazarbayev himself voted online. At the 20th Nur Otan Extraordinary Congress held on 25 November 2020, the Nur Otan revealed its list of party candidates as well as electoral platforms which were approved by the delegates. Nazarbayev at the congress spoke saying:
"The party's program announced by our President assym-Jomart Tokayevtoday is ambitious and at the same time calculated, supported by financial and human resources. It is a logical extension of our reforms. Throughout the years of independence, I have always set clear goals, and I have said that it is necessary to work hard and hard to achieve them. And now it's the same. I support this program proposed by the President and our common task is to rally around it and work together. You have to believe in yourself, love your homeland and do everything possible for progress."
Nazarbayev, at the congress, accused the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
of "double standards" over its conduct of the 2020 presidential elections, telling "what is there to talk about now in the United States of America, the OSCE was not allowed in the elections at all. The Democrats did not allow Republican observers and so on. It is not in order to criticize a big state, but if we are criticized, then why are there such disorders?". In his response to the Belarusian protests against President
Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...
's re-election, Nazarbayev criticized the protestors, saying “they've been fucking Belarus for a whole month," and noted the Bulgarian protests in which Nazarbayev claimed that it received a lack of international attention in contrast with Belarus. To conclude the Nur Otan congress, Nazarbayev proposed
Bauyrjan Baibek Bauyrjan Qydyrgaliuly Baibek (born 19 March 1974) is a Kazakh politician who served as the äkim of Almaty from 9 August 2015 to 28 June 2019. Along party lines. Baibek was the First Deputy Chairman of Nur Otan from 29 June 2019 to 2 February 20 ...
to be the head of the party's campaign headquarters, a decision that was unanimously supported by the Nur Otan delegates. In the following aftermath of the elections to the Mazhilis which were held on 10 January 2021, the ruling Nur Otan swept a comfortable majority of 76 seats despite a loss eight seats in contrary to the 2016 election. Nazarbayev congratulated the party's victory in the election saying, "Kazakhstanis associate the further development of our country, improvement of welfare with our party."


2022 unrest and resignation from Security Council

Following the outbreak of protests after a sudden sharp increase in gas prices, President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...
declared a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
in
Mangystau Region Mangystau ( kk, Маңғыстау облысы, Mañğystau oblysy; russian: Мангистауская область, Mangistauskaya oblast) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Aktau (a seaport), which has a population of 183,350 (2017 ...
and Almaty, effective from 5 January 2022. The Mamin Cabinet resigned the same day. On the evening of 5 January, Tokayev announced Nazarbayev's resignation from the Security Council. Questions regarding Nazarbayev's whereabouts arose as he was viewed to be the main target in the unrest with anti-Nazarbayev slogans being chanted throughout protests along with monuments and street names dedicated to him being vandalized and torn down. Rumours about Nazarbayev fleeing Kazakhstan was brought up by
Echo of Moscow Echo of Moscow (russian: links=no, Эхо Москвы, translit=Ekho Moskvy) was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local r ...
chief editor Alexei Venediktov, claiming that he was preparing to leave the country for unspecified treatment citing inner diplomatic circle. The Kyrgyz media reported that a private jet belonging to Nazarbayev's family had allegedly arrived in the capital of
Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
from the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
without official confirmation. While the Kazakh embassy in the UAE denied reports of his presence in the country. Spokesperson Aidos Ükıbai in his Twitter dismissed claims, affirming that Nazarbayev was in the capital of
Nur-Sultan Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
and that he had stayed in the country the whole time. From there, Ükıbai stated that Nazarbayev "holds a number of consultative meetings" and is in direct contact with President Tokayev, whom he urged everyone to rally around with "to overcome current challenges and ensure the integrity" of Kazakhstan. On 18 January 2022, Nazarbayev made his first public appearance in a video address since the unrest, calling the events a "tragedy" which "became a lesson for all of us." From there, he urged the public "to protect independence like the apple of one's eye" by finding out unknown people responsible for "demonstrations and murders" while expressing condolences to the families of the victims in the protests. During the address, Nazarbayev dismissed any rumours in regard to supposed inner conflict between the country's elite by calling them "absolutely groundless", insisting that he'd been a pensioner ever since handing over presidency to Tokayev whom he remarked "possesses full power" as he was set to be elected as the new chairman of the ruling Nur Otan party. Nazarbayev remarked about his achievements as president in which his goal was to form "stability and tranquility for the country" by calling for everyone to protect these "enduring values" and for unity around the Tokayev by supporting his reform agenda.


Personal life

Nursultan Nazarbayev identifies as a
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. As devout, Nazarbayev has described his spirituality as being based on the words from
Abai Qunanbaiuly Ibrahim (Abai) Qunanbaiuly ( kk, Абай Құнанбайұлы, ; russian: Абай Кунанбаев; ) was a Kazakh poet, composer and Hanafi Maturidi theologian philosopher. He was also a cultural reformer toward European and Russian cul ...
, a Kazakh poet whose philosophy is based on an enlightened
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
. According to Nazarbayev, Abai's "Words of Wisdom" aided him in attempting to build a modern Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union.Nazarbayev is married to Sara Alpysqyzy Nazarbayeva. They have three daughters: Dariga, Dinara and
Aliya Aliya ( ar, عَلِيَّة‎ ), Aaliyah, Alia, or Aliyah is an Arabic feminine given name. It is the feminine of the name Ali, meaning "exalted". People * Aliya bint Ali (1911–1950), Queen of Iraq * ''Aliyah bint Abdallah al-Mansur'', was th ...
. Aliya's first marriage was notably to Aidar Akayev, the eldest son of former
President of Kyrgyzstan The president of Kyrgyzstan, officially the president of the Kyrgyz Republic (russian: Президент Киргизской Республики; ky, Кыргыз Республикасынын Президенти), is the head of state an ...
Askar Akayev, which for a short period made the two
Central Asian Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the form ...
leaders related. Having grown up in the Soviet Union, Nazarbayev is fluent in Kazakh as well as Russian and understands
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
. He has two brothers, Satybaldy (1947–1980) and Bolat (born 1953), as well as one sister named Anip. On 16 August 2020, Nazarbayev's grandson, Aisultan, reportedly died from
cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...
in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Prior to that, Aisultan made several public statements on social media that Nazarbayev was his biological father and that his life was constantly threatened. He also accused his grandfather's associates of plotting and scheming. In response, Nazarbayev described Aisultan as being very similar to himself, expressing his regrets by telling that "one could not have sent him anywhere, but it was impossible to keep him. He was already a slave to this work and could not stop. We treated him in Moscow, and we treated him in London. It seems that I went out and came back to it again." On 18 June 2020, it was reported that Nazarbayev had tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
; a spokesman stated that Nazarbayev would go into isolation and work remotely.Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev diagnosed with coronavirus
Eurasianet 18 June 2020; retrieved 18 June 2020
On 3 July 2020, Nazarbayev had recovered and was "back on his feet" three weeks after contracting the virus. Nazarbayev later during a meeting with Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
recalled his sickness, telling that "group of Russian doctors stood by me for ten days. It was decisive in my recovery, so it will not be forgotten." In an October 2021 interview, Nazarbayev revealed that he had suffered a disease in his spine back in 2011, to which it became noticed while attending a concert, resulting him being carefully escorted out of the hall and eventually undergo a vertebra surgery to which Nazarbayev stated was amongst things that have influenced him in eventually resigning from presidency.


Honours


Kazakhstan

* Collar of the Order of the Golden Eagle * Collar of the Order of the First President of Kazakhstan – Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev * Recipient of the Medal "Astana" * Recipient of the Medal for "10 Years of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan" * Recipient of the Medal for "10th Anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan" * Recipient of the Medal for "10th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan" * Recipient of the Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Railway of Kazakhstan" * Recipient of the Medal for "10 Years of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan" * Recipient of the Medal for "50 Years of the Virgin Lands" * Recipient of the
Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
* Recipient of the Medal for "10 Years of the City of Astana" * Recipient of the Medal for "20 Years of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan" * Algys Order


Soviet Union

* Recipient of the
Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
* Recipient of the
Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
* Recipient of the Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" * Recipient of the
Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «70 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 28, 198 ...


Russian Federation

*: ** Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called ** Recipient of the Order of Alexander Nevsky ** Recipient of the
Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan" (russian: Медаль «В память 1000-летия Казани») is a state commemorative medal of the Russian Federation established on June 30, 2005 by Presidential Decree ...
** Recipient of the Medal "In Commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of Saint Petersburg" ** Recipient of the Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" *: ** Recipient of the Order of Akhmad Kadyrov *: ** Recipient of the Order "For Merits to the Fatherland"


Foreign awards

*: ** Recipient of the
Amir Amanullah Khan Award The Amir Amanullah Khan Award is the highest civilian award of Afghanistan. It was instituted in 2006 and is bestowed by the Government of Afghanistan to Afghan and foreign nationals in recognition of their services to Afghanistan. The award is ...
*: ** Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria *: ** Heydar Aliyev Order *: ** Recipient of the Order of Friendship of Peoples *: ** Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold *: ** Recipient of the
Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...
(28 April 2019) *: ** Grand Cross of the
Grand Order of King Tomislav The Grand Order of King Tomislav ( hr, Velered kralja Tomislava), or officially the Grand Order of King Tomislav with Sash and Great Morning Star (''Velered kralja Tomislava s lentom i Velikom Danicom''), is the highest state order of Croatia. It ...
*: ** Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...
*: ** First Class with Collar of the
Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of t ...
*: ** Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose of Finland ** Commander Grand Cross of the
Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...
*: ** Grand Cross of the Order of Legion of Honour *: ** Grand Cross of the
Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...
*: ** Grand Cross with Chair of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary *: ** Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...
*: ** Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum *: ** Golden Order in honor of the 1000th anniversary of Manas * : ** Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Three Stars *: ** Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (5 May 2000) *: ** Grand Cross of the
Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne de chêne, german: Eichenlaubkronenorden, lb, Eechelaafkrounenuerden) is an order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by Grand ...
*: ** Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles *: ** Supreme Order of Turkic World *: ** Knight of the Order of the White Eagle *: ** Collar of the Order of Independence *: ** Collar of the
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...
*: ** First Class of the
Order of the Republic of Serbia Order of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Орден Републике Србије) is the highest state order of Serbia. The order is awarded by the decree of the President of Serbia on special occasions. It is awarded in the first class on a la ...
*: ** First Class of the Order of the White Double Cross (2007) *: ** Recipient of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa *: ** Knight of the Collar of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...
(23 June 2017) *: ** Recipient of the Order of Ismoili Somoni *: ** First Class of the
Order of the State of Republic of Turkey The Order of the State of Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Nişanı) is the highest state order awarded to foreign nationals by the President of the Republic of Turkey. The Order of the State is conferred by the President, ...
(22 October 2009) *: ** Member of the
Order of Liberty The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom ( pt, Ordem da Liberdade), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human di ...
** First Class of the
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise ( uk, Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого) is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, ...
*: ** Collar of the Order of Zayed *: ** Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...
*: ** Recipient of the Gold Medal of Uzbekistan


Other

*
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
: A street in
Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...
is named after him. * World Turks Qurultai: Turk El Ata (Spiritual Leader of the Turkic People). *
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
: A street in the central part of
Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzan is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and t ...
was named after him. *
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
: The Capital of Kazakhstan was named after him after his resignation in 2019.


In popular culture

Nazarbayev is portrayed by
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
Dani Popescu in the 2020 satirical film ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan''.


See also

* Acmetal * Counter-terrorism in Kazakhstan *
Government of Kazakhstan The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Үкіметі, tr, ''Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Ükımetı'') oversees a presidential republic. The President of Kazakhstan, currently Kassym ...
*
List of national leaders This is a list of current heads of state and heads of government. In some cases, mainly in presidential systems, there is only one leader being both head of state and head of government. In other cases, mainly in semi-presidential and parliamen ...
* Politics of Kazakhstan


Notes


References

;Specific ;General *


External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nazarbayev, Nursultan 1940 births Living people People from Almaty Region Chairmen of the Organization of Turkic States Chairmen of the Turkic Council First Secretaries of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Communist rulers Critics of Islamism Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Foreign Members of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Heads of government of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic Party leaders of the Soviet Union Presidents of Kazakhstan National anthem writers Nur Otan politicians Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland First Class of the Order of the Star of Romania Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Grand Crosses of the Order of Vytautas the Great Grand Crosses with Chain of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil) Heroes of Kazakhstan Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Heydar Aliyev Order Recipients of the Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of Vytautas the Great Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Soviet metallurgists Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Recipients of the Supreme Order of Turkic World