Political Situation:

The first and only president in Kazakhstan since the independence in 1991 is Nursultan Nazarbayev. He
functions as a head of the state and holds all of the nations executive authority. The president is elected
by the people and serves for 2 to 5 years terms. However, a referendum held in April 1995 extended the
term of Nazabayev until 2000 and he again re-elected in 2005.
The Kazakhstan has a parliament composed of the lower house, also known as Mazhilis, and the upper
house, the senate. In 2011, president Nazarbayev called on his govt. to provide increased opportunities
for women to serve in leadership positions in politics and govt. Although in Kazakhstan presidential and
parliamentary elections take place on a regular basis
Kazakhstan is ethnically divided in several groups. About 2/3 of the group population is Kazakh, another
large group comes from Russia and there is also a small populations of Uzbek, Ukrainian, Uyghur, Tatar
and German people live in Kazakhstan but overall more than 100 ethnic groups are represented in the
central Asian state.
Position of women:
In 2009 the president signed a new gender equality law and this law prohibits discrimination of women.
International factor:
Kazakhstan is committed to a foreign policy that seeks to maintain good relations with Russia, China,
Japan, US, EU. The president has tried to balance relations with its significant partners Russia and the
United States by sending cheap petroleum and natural gas to its Russian neighbor.
Kazakhstan is a member of the United Nations, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe,
North Atlantic Cooperation Council, Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, and NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan established a customs union with
Russia and Belarus.










References:
1. http://www.nhc.nl/en/country_descriptions/kazakhstan_country_report/
2. http://www.europeanforum.net/country/kazakhstan
3.