The leader of Central Asia's largest economy, Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, "refused to side with Moscow" regarding Ukraine. Tokayev, the leader of Kazakhstan, one of the world's main suppliers of uranium, believes his oil-rich country's interest lies in bypassing Moscow.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is a Kazakh political leader, diplomat, and current President of Kazakhstan.
Birth, education, and duties within the USSR
Tokayev was born in Alma-Ata, present-day Kazakhstan, on May 17, 1953, in a Kazakh Turkish family. At the time of its birth, Kazakhstan was a Soviet Socialist republic affiliated with the Soviet Union (USSR).
Tokayev's father, Kemel Tokayev, was a well-known writer and a soldier who fought in World War II. His mother, Turar Shabarbayeva, worked at the Alma-Ata Institute of Foreign Languages.
Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who has served as President of Kazakhstan since 2019. Between 20 March and 12 June 2019, he served as acting president after the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had been president for nearly three decades.
After receiving his primary education in the region, he entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1970. He learned Chinese here, and in his fifth year of school, he was sent to the Soviet Embassy in Beijing, the capital of China, for internship and language learning. In the following years, he would pursue a doctorate in Political Science and write several books on international relations.
After graduating from this institute, Tokayev started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, and in 1975 he started working at the USSR Embassy in Singapore.
Returning to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979, Tokayev was sent to the Beijing Language Institute in 1983 and continued his language education. He was appointed to the USSR Embassy in Beijing between 1985 and 1991. Here he served as Second Secretary, First Secretary, and Undersecretary.
He returned to Moscow in 1991 and attended a course given to high-level diplomats. 38-year-old Tokayev's rising career within the USSR would end with the dissolution of the union.
Management experience in Kazakhstan
Tokayev was among the highest-ranking politicians in Kazakhstan, which was established after the collapse of the USSR.
The most notable stance of Tokayev, who was appointed as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs in March 1992, was his stance against nuclear disarmament. Tokayev, who became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1993, was appointed Minister in October 1994.
His duty, which began with his appointment as acting Prime Minister in March 1999, continued as a principal with the approval of the parliament in October 1999. In 2001, he had some disagreements with President Nursultan Nazarbayev. He said that some government officials and ministers should be dismissed, otherwise, he would leave office. These names were people who opposed one-man rule in the country and worked to carry out democratization processes. Nazarbayev dismissed these people.
Tokayev, who resigned from the Prime Ministry on January 28, 2002, served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for a short time and as Minister of State between 2002 and 2007.
For a while, he served as Chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
He served as President of the Senate between 2007-2011 and 2013-2019. In 2008, he was elected Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He was elected as Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva on 15 April 2011 and served in this position until 2013. In the ongoing process, Tokayev began to be seen as the name that would take over the country after Nazarbayev. He was also developing connections to achieve this position in terms of both internal and external relations.
Presidency of Kazakhstan
While President Nazarbayev resigned on March 19, 2019, Tokayev became the interim president as the President of the Senate, in accordance with the article in the Constitution. First of all, he changed the name of the country's capital, Astana, to Nursultan. Although Nazarbayev resigned, his powers continued until 2022.
During his rule, Tokayev developed very good relations, especially with China and Russia. Although the importance of the Kazakh language increased in the country, Tokayev made an effort to prevent this move from turning into anti-Russian sentiment.
Tokayev, who frequently criticized "Islamic radicalism" during his rule, said that Islamic civilization and cultural traditions should be developed, thus "the spread of an intellectual Islam". These discourses were accused of trying to keep Islam as a cultural theme rather than reflecting it in practical life.
Upon coming to power, Tokayev was accused of starting to act like a one-man post-Nazarbayev. Although Tokayev, who was declared to have won the 2019 early elections as the strongest candidate with 71 percent of the votes, promised some reforms, these were not seriously implemented. In April 2021, Nazarbayev resigned as chairman of the Kazakhstan People's Assembly and was replaced by Tokayev. This development led Tokayev to increase his power.
After the protests in 2022, the current government, Nazarbayev, and people close to him were dismissed, while Tokayev would invite Russian forces to the country. In parallel with this situation, many political figures known to be close to Nazarbayev were detained.