Nursultan Äbishuly Nazarbayev [2] (Kazakh: Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев [nʊrsʊlˈtɑn æbəʃʊˈlɯ nɑzɑrˈbɑ.jɪf]; Russian: Нурсултан Абишевич Назарбаев [nur.suɫˈtan ɐˈbʲi.ʂɨ.vʲɪt͡ɕ nə.zɐrˈba.jɪf]; born 6 July 1940) is the President of Kazakhstan. He has been the country's leader since 1989, when he was named First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR, and was elected the nation's first president following its independence from the Soviet Union in December 1991. In April 2011, Nazarbayev was re-elected to another five-year term.