predecessor successor birth_name birth_place children religion blankname party office primeminister birth_date term_start spouse namedata signature article_title term_end name
bakhytzhan zhumagulov kilibay medeubekov gennady kolbin bayken ashimov erik asanbayev '' position abolished '' uzakbay karamanov nursultan Äbishuly nazarbayev chemolgan -rrb- , kazakh ssr soviet union -lrb- now kazakhstan dariga dinara aliya sunni islam chairman of the supreme soviet communist 1991 -- 1999 -rrb- nur otan -lrb- 1999 -- present party -rrb- -lrb- 1962 -- 1991 -rrb- independent -lrb- chairman socialist republic first secretary of the central committee of the of communist party of kazakh ssr prime minister of the kazakh the soviet socialist republic full member of the 28th politburo supreme soviet of the kazakh soviet uzakbay karamanov 6 july 1940 22 14 july 1990 february 1990 22 june 1989 22 march 1984 sara alpysqyzy -lrb- 1962 -- present -rrb- bayken sagdiyev ashimov salamay mukashev zakash kamaledinov vera sidorova makhtay signature of nursultan nazarbayev.png nursultan nazarbayev
 24 29 august 1991 april 1990 14 december 1991 27 july 1989 nursultan nazarbayev
nursultan nazarbayev

nursultan Äbishuly nazarbayev -lrb- ; ; born 6 july 1940 -rrb- is the president of kazakhstan .
he has been the country 's leader since 1989 , when he was named first secretary of the communist party of the kazakh ssr , and was elected the nation 's first president following its independence from the soviet union in december 1991 .
in april 2015 , nazarbayev was re-elected with almost 98 % of the vote .
american president barack obama sent a letter to president nazarbayev congratulating him on his 2015 reelection .
the role of nazarbayev and his political reforms was acknowledged by daniel witt , vice chairman of the eurasia foundation .
he noted : '' nazarbayev 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 . ''
however , no election ever held in kazakhstan has met international standards .
