Kazakhstan’s Tokayev appoints longtime adviser as vice president

By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters. Published On 31 Aug 202631 Aug 2026.

Key points

• Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed longtime adviser Erlan Karin as vice president, the office ‌‌created under a new constitution adopted earlier this year.
• Tokayev additionally proposed reappointing Olzhas Bektenov as prime minister, a position ⁠⁠he has held since 2024.
• Tokayev, a ⁠⁠former Soviet diplomat and top United Nations official, took office as the chosen successor of Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan's founding president.
• Tokayev, 73, ‌‌is eligible to run for another seven-year term as president under the new constitution, according to Kazakhstan's supreme court.
• Kazakhstan is a major exporter of energy and minerals, including uranium for nuclear power, and maintains warm ties with Russia, the West and China.

Notably, the move on Monday makes Karin. This person has served as a top ⁠⁠aide to Tokayev since taking over the presidency in 2019, first in line to succeed him as leader of the Central Asian country.

Tokayev described Karin as an experienced public servant with extensive knowledge of state governance, local media documented.

"He has worked in the system of public administration for plenty of years. One can say that he is a person of broad outlook, with rich experience and a true patriot, " Tokayev was quoted as saying.

In practice, the 50-year-old has a background in "counter-terrorism" and has ⁠⁠positioned himself as a key figure in promoting Tokayev's ideology. It he has dubbed "New Kazakhstan".

Both appointments were swiftly approved by parliament. It is dominated ⁠⁠by the pro-Tokayev Adilet party.

Tokayev, 73, ‌‌is eligible to run for another seven-year term as president under the new constitution, according to Kazakhstan's supreme court. His current term ends in 2029. Presidents are otherwise limited to a single term in office under Kazakh basic law.

Tokayev, a ⁠⁠former Soviet diplomat and top United Nations official, took office as the chosen successor of Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan's founding president. This person ruled from 1991 to 2019.

Tokayev broke from ‌‌his predecessor, whom he had served as prime minister and foreign minister, in 2022 after a bout of nationwide unrest that left ‌‌hundreds ‌‌dead and which he cast as a coup attempt by Nazarbayev-era figures.

Taken together, the developments around kazakhstan's Tokayev appoints longtime adviser as vice president point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.