'Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev' (
Kazakh: 'Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев' [Nûrsûltan Äbîshûlâ Nazarbayev];
Russian: 'Нурсултан Абишевич Назарбаев' [Nursultan Abishyevic Nazarbayev] (born
6 July 1940 in
Chemolgan,
Kazakh SSR,
Soviet Union) has served as the
President of Kazakhstan since the
Fall of the Soviet Union and the nation's independence in 1991.
In 1984 Nazarbayev became the
Chairman of the
Council of Ministers, working under
Dinmukhamed Kunayev, the
First Secretary of the
Communist Party of Kazakhstan.
[Power and Change in Central Asia, pages 59-61 Google books] He served as First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party from 1989 to 1991. While previously having
atheistic views in the
Soviet era, Nazarbayev has exerted effort to highlight his
Muslim heritage by supporting
mosque renovations
[1] and at the same time attempt to
combat Islamic terrorism in Kazakhstan.
[Kazakstan - Government Mongabay]
Rise to power
Nazarbayev criticized
Askar Kunayev, head of the Academy of Sciences, at the 16th session of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in January 1986 for not reforming his department. Dinmukhamed Kunayev, Nazarbayev's boss and Askar's brother, felt deeply angered and betrayed. Kunayev went to
Moscow and demanded Nazarbayev's dismissal while Nazarbayev's supporters campaigned for Kunayev's dismissal and Nazarbayev's promotion.
Mikhail Gorbachev ignored them both, firing Kunayev but replacing him with
Gennady Kolbin, an
ethnic Russian, triggering three days of riots known as the
Zheltoqsan.
Nazarbayev replaced Kolbin, who despite his office had little authority in Kazakhstan, in September 1989.
[ He won the 1991 presidential election on 1 December, winning 95% of the vote in an election in which no other candidate ran against him.[2]]
Presidency
Nazarbayev at the White House
Nazarbayev renamed the State Defense Committee's to the Ministry of Defense and appointed Sagadat Nurmagambetov Defense Minister on 7 May 1992. The Supreme Council, under the leadership of Speaker Serikbolsyn Abdilin, began debating over a draft constitution in June 1992.
The constitution created a strong executive branch with limited checks on executive power. Opposition political parties Azat, Zheltoqsan, and the Republican Party, held demonstrations in Almaty from 10 June-17 calling for the formation of a coalition government and the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Sergey Tereshchenko and the Supreme Council. Kazakh security personnel forcibly put down the protest on 18 June 1992. The Parliament of Kazakhstan, comprised of Communist Party legislators who had yet to stand in an election since the country gained its independence, adopted the constitution on 28 January 1993.[3]
An April 1995 referendum extended his term until 2000. He was re-elected in January 1999 and again in December 2005. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized the last presidential election as falling short of international democratic standards.[4] On May 18, 2007, the Parliament of Kazakhstan 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: the original constitution's proscribed maximum of two presidential terms will still apply to all future presidents of Kazakhstan.[5]
Nazarbayev appointed Altynbek Sarsenbayev, who at the time served as the Minister of Culture, Information, and Concord, the Secretary of the Kazakh Security Council, replacing Marat Tazhin, on 4 May 2001. Tazhin became the Chairman of the National Security Council, replacing Alnur Musayev. Musayev became the head of the Guards' Service of the President.[6]
His government's policies are considered moderate and maintain a balance between the United States and Russia. Notwithstanding Kazakhstan's membership in the Organization of the Islamic Conference, under Nazarbayev the country has had good relations with Israel. Diplomatic relations were established in 1992 and President Nazarbayev paid official visits to Israel in 1995 and 2000.[1][2][3] Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $724 million in 2005.[4] He initiated the move of the administration from Almaty to Astana.
Personal wealth
Transparency International ranked Kazakhstan 124th in its list of countries by corruption in 2004 with a score of 2.2 (on a scale of 0-10 with 0 indicating a "highly corrupt" state).[5]. Nazarbayev himself has been called one of "ultimate oligarchs" of the post-Soviet central Asia states.[7] He is believed to have transferred at least $1 billion worth of oil revenues to his private bank accounts in other countries and his family controls many other key enterprises in Kazakhstan.
Family
He is married to Sara Alpysovna Nazarbayeva, with whom he has had three daughters; Dariga, Dinara and Aliya. Dariga was married to Rakhat Aliyev, son of a former minister of healthcare, who served as the First Deputy Foreign Minister and twice as the Kazakh Ambassador to Austria. Dinara is married to Timur Kulibayev, son of a former Minister of Construction, who serves as the First Deputy Chairman of the national holding company Samruk which manages several state-owned companies and, formerly, as the first Vice President of the state-owned petroleum company KazMunaiGas. Aliya is a prominent businesswoman. She was married to Aidar Akayev, the son of former Kyrgyz President, Askar Akaev.
On 4 December 2005 new Presidential elections were held and President Nazarbayev won by an overwhelming majority of 91.15% (from a total of 6,871,571 eligible participating voters) as reported by the Central Electoral Commission of Kazakhstan, an estimation criticized by the OSCE and other election watchdog organizations. Nazarbayev was sworn in for another seven-year term on 11 January 2006.
Other
Criticism of Iran
In a speech given on 15 December 2006 marking the 15th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence Nazarbayev criticized actions taken by the Iranian government, saying Iran had become a center of growing insecurity in Asia by engaging in international terrorism, fundamentalism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, illegal immigration, and weapons and drug trafficking. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry released a statement on 19 December, saying his remarks were not "what he really meant," and his comments were "mistakes."[Kazakhstan dismisses alleged anti-Iran comments from president IRNA]
2007 presidential address
Nazarbayev delivered his annual presidential address on 28 February 2007. He advocated membership in the World Trade Organization, the establishment of a Eurasian Customs Union, and discussed cooperation with foreign states in the "fight against terrorism and fight against epidemics and environmental disasters."[Kazakh leader outlines development priorities in annual address BBC News]
See also
★ Government of Kazakhstan
★ Politics of Kazakhstan
★ Kazakhgate
★ List of national leaders
★ Friedhelm Eronat
★ Galymzhan Zhakiyanov
★ Mukhtar Ablyazov
★ Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan
★ Zharmakhan Tuyakbay
★ For a Just Kazakhstan
★ Zamanbek Nurkadylov
★ Altynbek Sarsenbayev
References
1. http://mnweekly.ru/local/20070614/55257858.html
2. ''Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States, page 136'' Google books
3. ''Russia and the New States of Eurasia: The Politics of Upheaval, pages 317-318'' Google books
4. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights - Elections
5. Kazakhstan lifts president's term limit LA Times
6. ''Brassey's International Intelligence Yearbook: 2003 Edition, page 272 Google books''
7. The Evolution of Personal Wealth in the Former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe
8. The end of the "controlled" democracy
9. Kazakh Historian Turned Deputy Minister After Stay in Israel
10. Wealthy Kazakh businessman looks to make mark on Jewish world
External links
★ Official webpage
★ Pro-Nazarbayev video
★ Kazakh President demands firing of telecom chief
★ Brief introduction to relations between China and Kazakhstan
★ Kazakhstan, Armenia sign agreements to develop relations
★ Kazakhstan has no need for West's advice - Nazarbayev
★ Kazakhstan to export 6-7 mln tonnes of grains of this year harvest
★ Pro-Nazarbayev party merges with President's power base
★ Kazakhstan: New political party borrows from Western right
★ Kazakhstan to be top oil producer by 2011: Nazarbayev
★ Kazakh blogger found guilty
★ Kazakhstan and the Nazarbayev Kleptocracy - Islamic Human Rights Commission
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