Nazarbayev abruptly resigns as Kazakhstan president
MOSCOW — President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the only leader in the history of independent Kazakhstan, abruptly resigned Tuesday after three decades in power, raising uncertainty over the direction of the Central Asian country.
In a televised address to the oilrich nation, Nazarbayev, 78, said he has made the “difficult” decision to terminate his authority as president, effective Wednesday.
He did not give a specific reason for the surprise move, but noted that he would have marked 30 years on the job later this year.
“I see my future task in ensuring the ascent to power of a new generation of leaders, who will continue reforms,” he said.
Nazarbayev will retain the honorary title of “Elbasy” or “Leader of the Nation” and continue to wield considerable political power. He also will remain chairman of the nation’s Security Council and the head of the ruling Nur Otan party.
He said that upper house speaker Kassym-jomart Tokayev will serve as interim head of state. Tokayev is a former prime minister and foreign minister who also served as director-general of the U.N. office in Geneva from 2011-13.
Nazarbayev took the helm in Kazakhstan as its Communist Party chief of the republic in 1989 when it was part of the Soviet Union. He was first elected president before the 1991 Soviet collapse that gave the country its independence.