<!-- This short description is INTENTIONALLY "none" - please see WP:SDNONE before you consider changing it! -->
The president of Kazakhstan is the head of state elected by popular vote to serve a five-year-term. The president appoints the prime minister of Kazakhstan (head of government) and first deputy prime minister.
Leaders of the Kazakh Khanate (Khans) (1465–1874)
Leaders of Kazakhstan (1917–1990)
Alash Autonomy (1917–1920)
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan=2 style="width:25px;"|
!colspan=2 style="width:280px;"|Chairman<br />
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" style="width:100px;" |Political party
!rowspan=2 style="width:20px;"|Ref
|-
!Portrait
!width=180px|Name
!Took office
!Left office
!Time in office
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:#f2f20c; color:black"| 1
|160x160px
|Alikhan Bukeikhanov<br />
|13 December 1917
|5 March 1920
|
| style="background:#f2f20c;"|<span style="color:black">Alash</span>
|—
|}
Kirghiz Krai (1919–1920)
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan=2 style="width:25px;"|
!colspan=2 style="width:280px;"|Chairman<br />
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" style="width:100px;" |Political party
!rowspan=2 style="width:20px;"|Ref
|-
!Portrait
!width=180px|Name
!Took office
!Left office
!Time in office
|-
! colspan="8" |Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:; color:white"| 1
|160x160px
|Stanisław Pestkowski<br />
|10 July 1919
|26 August 2020
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA
| style="background:; color:white"| —
|
|Sakypkerey Argynshiev (Acting)<br />
|August 1920
|26 August 2020
|<1 month
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|}
Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (1920–1925)
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan=2 style="width:25px;"|
!colspan=2 style="width:280px;"|Chairman<br />
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" style="width:100px;" |Political party
!rowspan=2 style="width:20px;"|Ref
|-
!Portrait
!width=180px|Name
!Took office
!Left office
!Time in office
|-
! colspan="8" |Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:; color:white"| 1
|160x160px
|Stanisław Pestkowski<br />
|26 August 1920
|15 September 1920
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA
| style="background:; color:white"| —
|110x110px
|Sakypkerey Argynshiev (Acting)<br />
|26 August 1920
|September 1920
|<1 month
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:; color:white"| 2
|160x160px
|Viktor Radus-Zenkovich<br />
|15 September 1920
|13 October 1920
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|-
! colspan="8" |Chairman of the Central Executive Committee
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:; color:white"| 3
|110x110px
|Seitkali Mendeshev<br />
|13 October 1920
|19 April 1925
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:; color:white"| 3
|110x110px
|Zhalau Mynbayev<br />
|19 April 1925
|15 July 1925
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|}
Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1925–1936)
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan=2 style="width:25px;"|
!colspan=2 style="width:280px;"|Chairman<br />
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" style="width:100px;" |Political party
!rowspan=2 style="width:20px;"|Ref
|-
!Portrait
!width=180px|Name
!Took office
!Left office
!Time in office
|-
! colspan="8" |Chairman of the Central Executive Committee
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:; color:white"| 1
|160x160px
|Zhalau Mynbayev<br />
|15 July 1925
|3 April 1927
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:; color:white"| 2
|160x160px
|Eltai Yernazarov<br />
|3 April 1927
|9 January 1935
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
| style="background:; color:white"| 3
|160x160px
|Uzakbai Kulymbetov<br />
|9 January 1935
|5 December 1936
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br>(Bolsheviks)</span>
|—
|}
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (1936–1991)
First Secretary of the Communist Party
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan=2 style="width:25px;"|
!colspan=2 style="width:280px;"|Chairman<br />
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" style="width:100px;" |Political party
!rowspan=2 style="width:20px;"|Ref
|-
!Portrait
!width=180px|Name
!Took office
!Left office
!Time in office
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 1
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Levon Mirzoyan<br />
|23 April 1937
|23 May 1938
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br />(Bolsheviks)</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Oversaw early famine relief and collectivization; arrested in 1938 during Great Purge and executed in February 1939.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 2
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Nikolay Skvortsov<br />
|23 May 1938
|23 July 1945
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br />(Bolsheviks)</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Guided the republic through wartime mobilization relocating factories during World War II and post‑war reconstruction.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 3
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Gennady Borkov<br />
|23 July 1945
|22 June 1946
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br />(Bolsheviks)</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Served briefly in the immediate post‑war period during demobilization; little else is documented about his short tenure.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 4
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Zhumabay Shayakhmetov<br />
|22 June 1946
|6 February 1954
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist<br />(Bolsheviks)</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>First ethnic Kazakh in the post; removed in February 1954 under Khrushchev's reorganizations amid allegations of corruption.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 5
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Panteleimon Ponomarenko<br />
|6 February 1954
|7 May 1955
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Transferred from Byelorussian SSR as a transitional figure after Stalin's death; served just over a year before being reassigned.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 6
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Leonid Brezhnev<br />
|8 May 1955
|6 March 1956
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Promoted from Second Secretary to lead Virgin Lands campaign and Baikonur development; recalled to Moscow in March 1956 after disappointing harvests.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 7
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Ivan Yakovlev<br />
|6 March 1956
|26 December 1957
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Elevated from Second to First Secretary during the Khrushchev Thaw; oversaw de‑Stalinization measures and defense‑industry conversion.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 8
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Nikolai Belyaev<br />
|26 December 1957
|19 January 1960
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Noted for advancing agricultural and economic policies; dismissed in January 1960 due to a downturn in agricultural output and the harsh suppression of the 1959 Temirtau riots.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 9
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Dinmukhamed Kunaev<br />
|19 January 1960
|26 December 1962
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>—</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 10
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Ismail Yusupov<br />
|26 December 1962
|7 December 1964
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Succeeded Kunaev amid Khrushchev's regional reshuffling; initiated the transfer of several South Kazakhstan regions to the Uzbek SSR and was later dismissed at Brezhnev's suggestion.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 11
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Dinmukhamed Kunaev<br />
|7 December 1964
|16 December 1986
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>After a brief hiatus (replaced in 1962), he returned to lead for over 22 years overseeing massive industrialization and former Virgin Lands efforts and was removed in December 1986 by Gorbachev, causing the Jeltoqsan protests.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 12
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Gennady Kolbin<br />
|16 December 1986
|22 June 1989
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Appointed by Gorbachev as an outsider with no prior work in Kazakhstan; his imposition sparked the Jeltoqsan protests.</small>
|- bgcolor=#EEEEEE
!rowspan=2 style="background:; color:white"| 13
|rowspan=2|125px
|rowspan=2|Nursultan Nazarbayev<br />
|22 June 1989
|28 August 1991
|
| style="background:;"|<span style="color:white">Communist</span>
|rowspan=2| —
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" style="width:160px;" |<small>Last First Secretary; oversaw the exclusion of Article 6 (ending one‑party monopoly) on 24 October 1990 and the transition to the Presidency in April 1990 before office was abolished in September 1991.</small>
|}
Head of state
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Political party
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! colspan="7" |Chairman of the Central Executive Committee
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |1
|
| <br /><small>(1891–1938)</small>
| 5 December 1936
| 22 June 1937
|
|QKP
|- style="background:#e6e6aa;"
! style="background:; color:white;" |—
|
| Ismail Salvafeka<br />
| June 1937
| July 1937
| ~1 month
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |2
|
|Alibey Dzhangildin<br /><small>(1884–1953)</small>
|July 1937
|28 October 1937
| ~3 months
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |3
|134x134px
|<br /><small>(1907–1947)</small>
|28 October 1937
|15 July 1938
|
| QKP
|-
! colspan="7" |Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |4
|
|<br /><small>(1907–1984)</small>
|15 July 1938
|17 July 1938
|
| QKP
|-
! colspan="7" |Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |5
|
|<br /><small>(1898–1959)</small>
| 17 July 1938
| January 1947
| ~8.5 years
| QKP
|- style="background:#e6e6aa;" |
! style="background:; color:white;" |—
|
|<br />
| January 1947
| 20 March 1947
| ~2 months
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |6
|100px
|<br /><small>(1909–1982)</small>
|20 March 1947
|23 January 1954
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |7
|
|Nurtas Undasynov<br /><small>(1904–1989)</small>
|23 January 1954
|19 April 1955
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |8
|100px
|Zhumabek Tashenev<br /><small>(1915–1986)</small>
|19 April 1955
|20 January 1960
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |9
|
|Fazyl Karibzhanov<br /><small>(1912–1960)</small>
|20 January 1960
|25 August 1960
|
| QKP
|- style="background:#e6e6aa;" |
! style="background:; color:white;" |—
|
|Kapitalina Krykova<br />
|25 August 1960
|3 January 1961
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |10
|
|Isagali Sharipov<br /><small>(1906–1976)</small>
|3 January 1961
|5 April 1965
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |11
|
|Sabir Niyazbekov<br /><small>(1912–1989)</small>
|5 April 1965
|20 December 1978
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |12
|
|Isatay Abdukarimov<br /><small>(1924–2001)</small>
|20 December 1978
|14 December 1979
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |13
|100px
|Sattar Imashev<br /><small>(1926–1984)</small>
|14 December 1979
|22 February 1984
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |14
|
|Andrey Plotnikov<br /><small>(1912–1991)</small>
|22 February 1984
|22 March 1984
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |15
|
|Bayken Ashimov<br /><small>(1917–2010)</small>
|22 March 1984
|27 September 1985
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |16
|
|Salamat Mukashev<br /><small>(1927–2004)</small>
|27 September 1985
|9 February 1988
|
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |17
|
|Zakash Kamalidenov<br /><small>(1939–2017)</small>
|9 February 1988
|December 1988
| ~10 months
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |18
|
|Vera Sidorova<br /><small>(1934–2025)</small>
|December 1988
|10 March 1989
| ~3 months
| QKP
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |19
|
|<br /><small>(1929–2012)</small>
|10 March 1989
|22 February 1990
|
| QKP
|-
! colspan="7" |Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet
|-
! style="background:; color:white;" |20
|142x142px
|Nursultan Nazarbayev<br /><small>(born 1940)</small>
|22 February 1990
|24 April 1990
|
| QKP
|}
Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1990–present)
Political parties
; Symbols
Constitutional referendum
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />
! rowspan="2" |Elected
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Political party
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! style="background: linear-gradient( 10.7%, 10.7%); color:white; height:33px" |
| rowspan="3" |134x134px
| rowspan="3" |Nursultan Nazarbayev<br />
| rowspan="3" |1990<BR>1991<br>1999<BR>2005<br>2011<br>2015
| rowspan="3" |24 April 1990
| rowspan="3" |20 March 2019
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" |QKP<br><small>(1990–1991)</small><bR>Independent<br><small>(1991–1999)</small><bR>Otan/Nur Otan<BR><small>(1999–2019)</small>
|-
! style="background:; border-style: none; color:white; height:33px" |20
|-
! style="background:; border-style: none none solid none; color:white; height:33px" |
|-
! style="background:; border-style: none; color:white; height:33px" |
| rowspan="3" |138x138px
| rowspan="3" |Kassym-Jomart Tokayev<br>
| style="background-color:#e6e6aa" | —
| style="background-color:#e6e6aa" | 20 March 2019
| style="background-color:#e6e6aa" | 12 June 2019
| style="background-color:#e6e6aa" | 84 days
| rowspan="3" |Nur Otan<BR><small>(2019–2022)</small><BR>Amanat<BR><small>(March–April 2022)</small><BR>Independent<BR><small>(since 2022)</small>
|-
!style="background: linear-gradient( 10%, 14%); border-style: none; color:white; height:33px" |21
| rowspan="2" |2019<BR>2022
| rowspan="2" |12 June 2019
| rowspan="2" |Incumbent
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|style="background:; border-style: none none solid none; height:33px" |
|}
Note
Until 16 December 1991 the head of state was called President of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
Timeline
See also
- Politics of Kazakhstan
- President of Kazakhstan
- Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
- Vice President of Kazakhstan
References
External links
- Kazakhstan President Official Site
- Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev Biography