Nursultan Nazarbayev

Biography

Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev was born on July 6, 1940, in Ushqonyr, a village in what was then the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. He started his political journey during the Soviet era, joining the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1962 while working at a steel factory. He steadily climbed the party ranks, becoming Prime Minister of the Kazakh SSR in 1984 and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in 1989. His rise peaked when the Supreme Soviet elected him president of Kazakhstan in 1990, putting him in charge during the challenging time of the Soviet Union's collapse.

When Kazakhstan became independent in 1991, Nazarbayev became its first president, a role he held for almost 30 years. He ran unopposed in the country's first presidential election in 1991 and won by a landslide. During his presidency, Nazarbayev strengthened his power through various constitutional methods, including a 1995 referendum that extended his presidency and adopted a new constitution giving more power to the president. A 2007 constitutional amendment lifted term limits specifically for him, allowing his continued leadership through elections in 2011 and 2015 that were criticized internationally as unfair.

While president, Nazarbayev led Kazakhstan's shift from a Soviet republic to an independent nation. He built diplomatic relations worldwide, tapped into the country's large oil and gas reserves, and moved the capital from Almaty to Astana (briefly renamed Nur-Sultan in his honor and later changed back to Astana). His government adopted a multi-directional foreign policy, keeping ties with Russia, China, the United States, and European countries without siding exclusively with any single power.

In March 2019, with public dissatisfaction and protests growing, Nazarbayev announced his resignation, handing over power to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Even after stepping down, he kept considerable influence as chairman of the Security Council, leader of the ruling Nur Otan party, and Elbasy (Leader of the Nation). However, his influence dropped significantly after the January 2022 unrest, which resulted in his removal from the Security Council and a constitutional referendum that took away many of his privileges and titles, effectively closing his era in Kazakhstani politics.