March 20 (UPI) -- The last reigning Soviet-era president has resigned.

After 30 years at the helm of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, 78, announced his resignation Tuesday, but he will remain chairman of the Central Asian country's security council.

He will also remain chairman of the ruling Nur Otan party.

"I stay with you," he said in his televised address. "The cares of the country and the people remain my concerns."

He said the decision to step down was "difficult" and that he was "honored by my people to become the first president of independent Kazakhstan."

However, he said he will stay on in order to help shape the future of his country and its leaders.

"As the founder of an independent Kazakhstani state, I see my future task in ensuring the coming to power of a new generation of leaders who will continue the transformations being carried out in the country," he said.

Nazarbayev, who was elected five times, said parliament speaker Kasym-Zhomart Kemeluly Tokayev, 65, will become interim president.

He will be sworn in on March 20 at the joint parliament session and will serve as president until the 2020 presidential election.

Nazarbayev's resignation comes weeks after he fired the government for failing to improve living standards.

He said there was an insufficient number of productive jobs, especially in the country, and small and medium business had not become an economic growth driver, adding that raising income and the quality of life should have been the main priorities of each government member.

"Under these conditions, I, as president and guarantor of the Constitution, taking into account the interests of our people, make the following decision," he said. "I believe that the government should resign."

The dismissal and has been largely seen as a reaction to persistent nationwide protests, accusing the government of ignoring its citizens' needs.

Nazarbayev had led the oil-rich country since 1989 while it was still a member of the Soviet Union as the country's Communist party head. He was then elected as Kazakhstan's first president in 1991. In 2015, his fifth election victory, Nazarbayev received nearly 98 percent of the vote.</s>New Kazakh president sworn in after longtime leader resigns

MOSCOW (AP) — The speaker of Kazakhstan's parliament was sworn as interim president on Wednesday, a day after longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev abruptly resigned.

Nazarbayev surprised many by announcing in a televised address Tuesday that he would step down after nearly 30 years in office, making Kassym-Jomart Tokayev only the second president in the country's independent history.

The 78-year-old Nazarbayev attended Tokayev's inauguration Wednesday, entering to lengthy applause from assembled dignitaries before taking a seat on a podium behind the lectern where Tokayev gave an address.

Tokayev in his speech praised Nazarbayev as "an outstanding reformer" who is widely expected to continue to wield influence as chairman of the security council and head of the ruling party.

Nazarbayev took the helm in Kazakhstan as its Communist Party chief of the republic in 1989 when it was part of the Soviet Union, and he was first elected its president weeks before the 1991 Soviet collapse gave the country its independence.

He has been widely praised for maintaining stability and ethnic peace in Kazakhstan, a large, oil-rich nation south of Russia and west of China. Even though he has faced criticism for marginalizing the political opposition and creating what is effectively a one-party state, the political regime that Nazarbayev has built is more liberal than those in the de-facto dictatorships in the neighboring Central Asian countries.</s>Nursultan Nazarbayev, the only leader that independent Kazakhstan has ever known, has abruptly announced his resignation after three decades in power, raising uncertainty over the country’s future course.

The 78-year-old said in a televised address to the oil-rich nation that he had taken the “difficult” decision to terminate his authority as president, effective on Wednesday.

He did not give a reason, but noted that he would have marked 30 years in the job later this year.

He said he sees his mission as ensuring the transfer of power to a new generation of politicians.

“It was an honour for me to serve the people,” he said. “I have worked hard to fulfil the nation’s will.”

Mr Nazarbayev added that he would retain the position of the chairman of the nation’s Security Council and the head of the ruling party. “I will serve you until the end of my days,” he said.

He said upper house speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will serve as interim head of state in line with the constitution until a new election is held.

Kazakhstan, despite having a population of only 18 million, is the ninth largest country in the world with an area of more than a million square miles. It borders Russia to the north and China to the east and has extensive oil reserves that make it strategically and economically important.

Mr Nazarbayev came to power in 1989 as its Communist Party chief when it was part of the Soviet Union, and was first elected president weeks before the 1991 Soviet collapse.

He has extended his tenure by landslide victories in successive elections and plebiscites.

He took nearly 98% of the vote in the most recent election, in 2015, when he was elected for another five-year term.

He has been widely hailed for maintaining stability and ethnic peace in Kazakhstan but has faced criticism for sidelining the opposition.

He has maintained a delicate balance between Russia and the West, leading Kazakhstan to join a Russia-dominated economic alliance of ex-Soviet nations, but cultivating close energy ties and other links with the West.

His resignation will set the stage for a potential battle between Russia and the US for influence over the successor government.</s>ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday after three decades in power, saying his oil-rich Central Asian nation now needed “a new generation of leaders”.

Nazarbayev, 78, the last Soviet-era leader still in charge of his country, said he would retain key security council and party leader positions while handing over the presidency to a loyal ally for the rest of his term, which ends in April 2020.

“I have taken a decision, which was not easy for me, to resign as president,” Nazarbayev said in a televised address before signing a decree terminating his powers from March 20.

“As the founder of the independent Kazakh state I see my task now in facilitating the rise of a new generation of leaders who will continue the reforms that are under way in the country.”

His decision hit the price of Kazakh bonds and even appeared to weigh on the Russian rouble. Moscow is Kazakhstan’s main trade partner and Nazarbayev has enjoyed close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Valentina Matvienko, the speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament and a close Putin ally, said Nazarbayev’s resignation was unexpected and very serious, RIA news agency reported.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaker of the upper house of parliament, will take over as Kazakhstan’s acting president for the remainder of his term in line with the constitution, Nazarbayev said.

Tokayev, 65, is a Moscow-educated career diplomat fluent in Kazakh, Russian, English and Chinese who has previously served as Kazakhstan’s foreign minister and prime minister.

Nazarbayev, a onetime steel worker who as president helped attract tens of billions of dollars from foreign energy companies and more than triple Kazakh oil output, said he would continue to chair the Security Council and remain leader of the Nur Otan party which dominates parliament.

The former Communist Party boss steered his nation of 18 million people to independence from Moscow in 1991. He won 97.7 percent of the vote in the last presidential election in 2015 and has no apparent long-term successor.

Kazakhstan is scheduled to hold both presidential and parliamentary elections next year.

Nazarbayev’s government pushed through a number of popular policies in recent months - including raising public-sector salaries and forcing utilities to cut and freeze tariffs - stoking speculation that he was preparing for a re-election bid.</s>Kazakhstan on Wednesday swore in its second-ever president since independence, following the shock resignation of their ruler of 28 years Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The first official act of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev — who by Kazakh constitution became president by default — was to rename the capital city after Mr Nazabayev, indicating there would be no departure from the abdicated leader's policy.

Mr Nazabayev's long rumoured resignation triggered an internal debate over who will succeed the leader in elections next year.

Astana, a futuristic capital city – littered with glass-faced architectural feats, which was simply named the Kazakh word for "capital" – will now be known as Nursultan, or "Sultan of Light" in Kazakh, in honour of the former president.

"The results of an independent Kazakhstan are there for all to see," the country's new leader said. "I propose...naming the country's capital Nursultan in honour of the first president".

The Kazakh parliament then voted to pass the change of name.

The newly appointed president also said the main streets in every major city should be named after Mr Nazarbayev and portraits of the post-Soviet-era ruler should continue to hang in schools and other public places.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are set to lead expansion of Islamic banking in CIS countries. AFP

He "remains the only and lifelong father of the people," Mr Tokayev said.

Also on Wednesday Mr Nazabayev's daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva, was elected speaker of the Senate, setting her up to succeed Mr Tokayev if he resigns and as a key political figure in elections next year.

Ms Nazarbayeva, 55, is the eldest of three daughters and as the most politically active – she served as deputy prime minister from 2015 to 2016 – has often been mentioned as a potential successor. Mr Nazabayev once ruled out handing over power to family members.

Mr Nazabayev announced his resignation on Tuesday, ending nearly 30 years as head of state of central Asia's largest economy.

"I have taken the decision to refuse the mandate of the presidency," he said in a speech broadcast on state television.

Mr Nazarbayev, 78, has served in the office since April 1991 but has led Kazakhstan since 1989 while it was still part of the Soviet Union.

“I will be with you to serve until the end of my days,” he said. “I see my future task in ensuring a new generation of leaders.”

As the chairman of the Security Council, a constitutional organ setting guidelines for foreign and interior politics, Mr Nazarbayev will continue to "be the power of the throne," following the example of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, who coined the minister-mentor model.

President Tokayev, 65, a life long diplomat who has been foreign minister twice, "is a safe pair of hands and a loyal presidential lieutenant," Kate Mallinson, an Associate Fellow for Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia Programme wrote, adding that "Nazarbayev Inc." continues to rule.

But Mr Tokayev faces the challenge of reviving Kazakhstan's stagnating economy – the government has spent nearly $18 billion (Dh66bn) on banking bailouts – and balancing relations with the country's two giant neighbours Russia and China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing is fully confident in bilateral cooperation, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said “we hope for continuity” in Kazakh policies.

However, argued Ms Mallinson, "the interim succession plan is still vulnerable to external and internal factors including Russia’s role, the price of oil, socio-economic issues and elite politics," and warned of external "hostile figures" who might seek to take advantage of the power vacuum.</s>ASTANA (Reuters) - Kazakhstan took a step closer to a carefully choreographed dynastic succession on Wednesday as the daughter of its long-serving ruler was named to a post that put her in line for the presidency a day after her father stepped down.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the only ruler Kazakhstan has known since the Soviet era, resigned as president on Tuesday, automatically making his loyalist parliament speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev president in his place.

But Nazarbayev kept other senior decision-making posts. And as his first act in office, new President Tokayev nominated the 78-year-old leader’s 55-year-old daughter Dariga as speaker of the senate, meaning she would automatically become president if Tokayev were to leave office before an election next year.

Her nomination was then unanimously confirmed by the Senate.

Nazarbayev was the last Soviet-era communist boss still in power in a former Soviet state until his decision to step down this week. If his daughter eventually follows him into power, it would be only the second successful dynastic succession in an ex-Soviet state, after Ilham Aliyev followed his father Heydar into power in Azerbaijan.

In an inauguration speech, the new president made clear he intended to continue to serve Nazarbayev, who retains posts including those of head of the powerful security council and leader of the ruling party.

The capital Astana is to be renamed Nursultan in Nazarbayev’s honor, Tokayev said. Nazarbayev’s “opinion will have special, one might say priority, importance in developing and making strategic decisions”.

Tokayev, a 65-year-old career diplomat fluent in Russian, English and Chinese, now has a mandate to serve out the final year of Nazarbayev’s term. The more permanent successor is then expected to be the candidate Nazarbayev selects to represent his Nur Otan party in an election in April next year.

“The real contest will be fought inside the corridors of power rather in public,” said Chris Weafer, senior partner the Moscow-based Macro-Advisory Ltd consultancy.

“The candidate supported by the Nur Otan party and, presumably, endorsed by Nazarbayev, will win the election. There is no realistic possibility for surprise given the political structures in Kazakhstan.”

Nazarbayev praised Tokayev on Tuesday as “a man who can be trusted to lead Kazakhstan”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Tokayev on Wednesday, praising his “big personal contribution to the strengthening of the ties of strategic partnership and alliance between our countries”.

Nazarbayev has been a close ally of Putin, while also maintaining warm relations with China and successful business ties with Western companies that have helped Kazakhstan exploit huge oil and gas resources, making it one of the most prosperous former Soviet states in terms of output per capita.

While his rule has been firm and political opposition all but negligible, Kazakhstan has not faced the same degree of criticism over human rights as neighbors Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, or unrest that plagued Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

But critics say he should have done more to create a stable political system less dependent on the rule of a single man.

His daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva has in the past led Kazakhstan’s main television station and served as a deputy prime minister, while also devoting time to a passion for opera, which she has performed publicly.

She made no mention of the upcoming elections in her brief speech on Wednesday accepting the speaker’s post. While her elevation appears to increase the odds she will take over one day, she is not the only potential heir.

Another extended family member, Nazarbayev’s nephew Samat Abish, is also regarded as a candidate after his meteoric rise through the ranks of state security, where he has held the No. 2 post since 2015. Abish, however, keeps a low public profile.

The head of state security, Karim Masimov, although not a family member, is also close to Nazarbayev, having served as chief of staff and twice as prime minister. The present prime minister, Askar Mamin, was Masimov’s school classmate.

Some analysts believe there could be a collective succession, a troika- or politburo-style arrangement, after Kazakhstan amended its constitution in 2017 to reduce presidential powers in favor of lawmakers and the cabinet.

“What we expect to see in coming years and decades is a gradual transformation toward a system that is less reliant on one strong figurehead,” said Charles Robertson, global chief economist at Renaissance Capital.

But there are doubts whether such a structure would be stable, given recent examples in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan where new leaders moved quickly to eliminate other key players.

In any case, major concerns for investors will be uncertainty and a shift from long-term structural reforms toward populist policies, which began last year when the government unexpectedly froze utility tariffs, putting companies’ long-term investment plans at risk.

Last month, Nazarbayev ordered the cabinet to tap a rainy-day fund for $3.6 billion to boost public sector salaries and social aid payouts, and build homes and infrastructure.

“There is obviously pressure on the regime to improve living standards... and to a certain extent they have some resources to do that,” said Stuart Culverhouse, chief economist at emerging market investment bank Exotix.</s>MOSCOW (AP) — The speaker of Kazakhstan's parliament was sworn as interim president on Wednesday, a day after longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev abruptly resigned.

Nazarbayev surprised many by announcing in a televised address Tuesday that he would step down after nearly 30 years in office, making Kassym-Jomart Tokayev only the second president in the country's independent history.

The 78-year-old Nazarbayev attended Tokayev's inauguration Wednesday, entering to lengthy applause from assembled dignitaries before taking a seat on a podium behind the lectern where Tokayev gave an address.

Tokayev in his speech praised Nazarbayev as "an outstanding reformer" who is widely expected to continue to wield influence as chairman of the security council and head of the ruling party.

Nazarbayev took the helm in Kazakhstan as its Communist Party chief of the republic in 1989 when it was part of the Soviet Union, and he was first elected its president weeks before the 1991 Soviet collapse gave the country its independence.

He has been widely praised for maintaining stability and ethnic peace in Kazakhstan, a large, oil-rich nation south of Russia and west of China. Even though he has faced criticism for marginalizing the political opposition and creating what is effectively a one-party state, the political regime that Nazarbayev has built is more liberal than those in the de-facto dictatorships in the neighboring Central Asian countries.</s></s>New Kazakh president sworn in after longtime leader resigns

MOSCOW (AP) — Kazakhstan has sworn in Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as interim president a day after longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned.

Tokayev, a career diplomat who had been senate speaker, can serve the remainder of Nazarbayev's term ahead of scheduled elections next year.

Nazarbayev surprised many by announcing in a televised address Tuesday that he would step down after nearly 30 years, making Tokayev only the second president in the country's independent history.

Nazarbayev attended Tokayev's inauguration Wednesday, entering to lengthy applause from assembled dignitaries before taking a seat on a podium above and behind the lectern where Tokayev gave an address.

Nazarbayev, whom Tokayev praised as "an outstanding reformer," will remain influential as chairman of the security council and head of the ruling party.</s>ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday after three decades in power, in what appeared to be the first step in a choreographed political transition that will see him retain considerable sway.

Known as "Papa" to many Kazakhs, the 78-year-old former steel worker and Communist party apparatchik has ruled the vast oil and gas-rich Central Asian nation since 1989, when it was still part of the Soviet Union.

Bestowed by parliament with the official title of "The Leader of the Nation", he was the last Soviet-era leader still in office and oversaw extensive market reforms while remaining widely popular in his country of 18 million people.

"I have taken a decision, which was not easy for me, to resign as president," Nazarbayev said in a nationwide TV address, flanked by his country's blue and yellow flags, before signing a decree terminating his powers from March 20.

"As the founder of the independent Kazakh state I see my task now in facilitating the rise of a new generation of leaders who will continue the reforms that are underway in the country."

But Nazarbayev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he would retain key security council and party leader positions and hand over the presidency to a loyal ally for the rest of his term, which ends in April 2020.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaker of the upper house of parliament, will take over as Kazakhstan's acting president for the remainder of his term in line with the constitution, Nazarbayev said.

Nazarbayev has no apparent long-term successor. His decision hit the price of Kazakh bonds, while the London-listed shares of Kazakhstan's biggest bank, Halyk Bank, tumbled 5 percent. The news also appeared to weigh on the Russian rouble. Moscow is Kazakhstan's main trade partner.

The Kremlin said Nazarbayev and Putin had spoken by phone on Tuesday, but gave no details of their conversation.

"(Nazarbayev) will continue to some extent to oversee things, so it is not like he has cut the cord totally - he still has his fingers in the pie," said Theodor Kirschner of Capitulum Asset Management in Berlin.

"That a 78-year-old won't be sticking around forever shouldn't be such a surprise to anyone, and this move makes the transition smoother. This doesn't really give us a headache."

Nazarbayev, who helped attract tens of billions of dollars from foreign energy companies and more than tripled Kazakh oil output, said he would continue to chair the Security Council and remain leader of the Nur Otan party which dominates parliament.

The new acting president, 65-year-old Tokayev, is a Moscow-educated career diplomat fluent in Kazakh, Russian, English and Chinese who has previously served as Kazakhstan's foreign minister and prime minister.

While praising Tokayev as "a man who can be trusted to lead Kazakhstan", Nazarbayev - who has three daughters - stopped short of endorsing him as his preferred heir.

"We expect Tokayev to be an interim figure," said Camilla Hagelund, an analyst at consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft. "The real question is, who will be Kazakhstan’s third president."

Kazakhstan is scheduled to hold both presidential and parliamentary elections next year.

Nazarbayev's eldest daughter, Dariga, the most politically ambitious of his children, is a senator and once led a political party of her own. Another close relative, his nephew Samat Abish, is the No.2 official on the National Security Committee.

The head of state security, 53-year-old Karim Masimov, is also a close Nazarbayev confidant. He has served twice as prime minister and also worked as the president's chief of staff.

But regardless of who eventually leads Kazakhstan, the transition may slow reforms, including in the key energy sector, according to GlobalData analyst Will Scargill.

"Although Nazarbayev will retain some key roles, his decision to resign will doubtless slow policy-making as political dynamics are restructured," Scargill said.

Uncertainty could also hurt investor appetite for Kazakhstan's biggest state-owned companies, which the government planned to list as part of a privatisation campaign.

Nazarbayev steered his nation, which is five times the size of France in area, to independence from Moscow in 1991. He has since managed to maintain close ties with Russia, the West, and China, Kazakhstan's giant eastern neighbour.

Nazarbayev won 97.7 percent of the vote in the last presidential election in 2015. International observers have long judged elections in Kazakhstan to be neither free nor fair.

Nazarbayev tolerated no dissent or opposition and was criticised by rights groups who accused him of locking up his critics and muzzling the media, allegations he denied.

His government recently pushed through a number of popular policies - including raising public-sector salaries and forcing utilities to cut or freeze tariffs - stoking speculation that he was preparing for a re-election bid.

Members of Nazarbayev's family have stakes in some of Kazakhstan's most lucrative assets, including Halyk Bank and firms in sectors ranging from telecoms to fuel trading.

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The second President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is sworn into office, after the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev.