President of Kazakhstan

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan

Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev is the second President of Kazakhstan, in office since 20 March 2019 — initially as acting president after Nursultan Nazarbayev’s surprise resignation and then, after a snap election on 9 June 2019, in his own right with 70.9% of the vote. A career Soviet-trained diplomat who spent most of his adult life outside domestic politics, Tokayev was widely seen in 2019 as a placeholder for the Nazarbayev clan. The January 2022 Qandy Qantar (“Bloody January”) protests and their violent resolution transformed him into the unambiguous centre of power, and a November 2022 constitutional overhaul replaced renewable five-year terms with a single, non-renewable seven-year term — allowing Tokayev to reset the clock and stand once more, winning 81.3% on 20 November 2022 for a mandate that runs to 2029.

Tokayev was born on 17 May 1953 in Alma-Ata (now Almaty) to Kemel Tokayev, a Kazakh writer and World War II veteran. He graduated from the elite Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1975 and joined the Soviet foreign service, serving in Singapore and the Chinese section of the USSR foreign ministry, where he became fluent in Mandarin and English. After independence he rose rapidly in Kazakhstan’s diplomatic corps: Foreign Minister (1994–1999, 2002–2007), Prime Minister (1 October 1999 – 28 January 2002), Senate Speaker (2007–2011 and 2013–2019), and UN Under-Secretary-General heading the Geneva office (2011–2013).

Qandy Qantar — January 2022

The defining event of Tokayev’s presidency began on 2 January 2022, when a doubling of the state-regulated price of liquefied petroleum gas in the western oil town of Zhanaozen triggered rolling protests that spread to Almaty within three days. On 5 January protesters torched the Almaty city hall and the presidential residence; the entire cabinet resigned. Tokayev sacked Nazarbayev as chair of the powerful Security Council — the old leader’s main lever of continuing influence — and invoked the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which deployed roughly 2,500 Russian-led troops for eight days. He publicly authorised security forces to “fire without warning.” At least 238 people were killed, thousands were detained, and senior Nazarbayev relatives, including his nephew Samat Abish (former deputy head of the KNB intelligence service), were later prosecuted. The official narrative framed the unrest as an attempted coup by the Nazarbayev clan plus foreign terrorists; human-rights groups documented widespread torture of detainees and extrajudicial shootings.

“New Kazakhstan” and the 2022 Term Reset

Branding the post-January period “New Kazakhstan,” Tokayev pushed through a June 2022 constitutional referendum (77.2% yes) that curtailed some presidential powers, banned close presidential relatives from senior state posts, and stripped Nazarbayev of his “Elbasy” (Leader of the Nation) privileges. A March 2023 parliamentary election introduced single-mandate districts and allowed independents for the first time in two decades, though the ruling Amanat party retained a dominant 53% share. The November 2022 presidential vote itself was criticised by OSCE monitors for lacking genuine competition — the other five candidates were all regime-approved — and delivered Tokayev an uncontested 7-year mandate.

Foreign Policy and Ukraine Neutrality

Tokayev has pursued a “multi-vector” foreign policy, refusing to recognise Russia’s annexation of eastern Ukrainian territories and declining Vladimir Putin’s requests for military support, while maintaining the Eurasian Economic Union and CSTO memberships. Kazakhstan has absorbed an estimated 200,000 Russian draft-dodgers since September 2022 and become a key conduit for parallel-import trade to Russia. Relations with China remain strong through Belt and Road investment in the Khorgos trans-border hub and a 2023 upgrade to a “permanent comprehensive strategic partnership.” In 2024 Astana deepened ties with the EU on critical minerals and hosted visits from Xi Jinping, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron.