Nursultan Nazarbayev
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
“For his leadership in promoting nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and for his initiative to foster peace and unity through interfaith dialogue and inter-cultural ties.”
Profile
Born in 1940, Nursultan Nazarbayev became the first president of the Republic of Kazakhstan following its independence from Soviet Union in 1991. In April 2015, he was re-elected for the fourth time, supported by an overwhelming majority. President Nazarbayev voluntarily renounced the nuclear arsenal, turning Kazakhstan into a non-nuclear power within four years of independence, and closed the Soviet nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk, where 456 nuclear tests had been conducted by the Soviet military. He has also put forward initiatives to promote interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue, including the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions held in Astana, and has contributed to fostering a culture of peace within Central Asia and the world. He is a Doctor in Economics and a recipient of the Order of the Chrysanthemum from the Emperor of Japan.