Kazakhstan renames capital as new President takes office
- Kazakhstan’s new interim President was sworn in following the shock resignation of the country’s long-time ruler, and in his first official act renamed the capital after his predecessor.
- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took office in less than 24 hours after Nursultan Nazarbayev, the only leader an independent Kazakhstan had ever known, suddenly announced resignation.
- The proposed changing the name of the Central Asian nation’s capital from Astana to Nursultan, or ‘Sultan of Light’ in Kazakh, and Parliament approved the change within hours.
