Day of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The first winter day of 2012 became another holiday for the people of Kazakhstan. On December, 1 2012, the country celebrates the Day of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. On December, 10 2011, the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted a decree «On Amending the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Holidays in the Republic of Kazakhstan». The main aim of establishing of “The Day of the First President” was to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. The event that happened on December, 1 1991 – as a result of the first national elections, Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected as the President of the Kazakh SSR, served as the historical background and the basis for selecting the date of the holiday. He was the only candidate and won with almost 98.7% of votes at 88.2% of voters. One of the first decisions of the first president was to sign a decree to rename the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic to the Republic of Kazakhstan on December, 10 1991. Therefore, after six days – on December, 16 1991 the Supreme Council declared the independence of Kazakhstan, which meant the proclamation of a sovereign state of Kazakhstan. The first few days of December 1991 were crucial and indeed fatal for Kazakhstan in terms of determining the future development path of the independent Republic. Currently, Kazakhstan is considered by the international community as a modern democratic State. The first President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who heads the Republic since the establishment of this position on April, 24 1990, has a considerable merit.