In a surprise move on Tuesday, Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, announced his resignation from office in a televised address, after occupying the country’s highest political position for almost 30 years.
The 78-year-old, often referred to as the last Soviet-era leader, has led the oil-rich country since the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR) in the early nineties. He began his political career as a communist leader before eventually becoming the country’s president after independence in December 1991.
On Tuesday evening, the president announced: “Today I appeal to you as I always did in the important moments in the history of our state which we have built and are building together.”
“But today my appeal is special. I have made a difficult decision – to retire from the responsibility of the President of Kazakhstan Republic.”
“I am staying with you, caring for the country and its people will remain my concerns,” he added.
While his term was expected to end in April next year, he is set to hand over power, while maintaining his key security council, and party leadership positions. He was elected for a fifth term in 2015, which should have run for five years, when he secured 97 percent of the total votes cast.
Last month, he fired his government for failing to steer the country towards economic development. He cited the country’s vast energy resources and oil deposits alongside his displeasure at the economy’s struggle to recover from the 2014 fall in oil prices and Western sanctions against its key trading partner, Russia.
In line with the constitution, Nazarbayev announced that the Speaker of the Upper House of the country’s parliament and fellow member of the ruling Democratic People’s Party, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, will take over the leadership of the country as acting president, until the next elections are conducted.
The president described his replacement, who has served the country in different capacities including as foreign minister to prime minister, as a “honest, responsible, committed man.”
Nazarbayev is known for his efforts in steering the country from a low-middle-income nation, to an upper-middle income country in less than two decades, through a series of reforms and measures which helped boost its business environment.
