Editing Nursultan Nazarbayev (section)

====Resignation====
On 19 March 2019, following unusually persistent [[2018–2020 Kazakh protests|protests]] in cities across the country,<ref name="rferlresign">{{cite news|title=Kazakh President Nazarbaev Abruptly Resigns, But Will Retain Key Roles|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakh-president-nursultan-nazarbaev-says-he-is-resigning-/29830123.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319195948/https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakh-president-nursultan-nazarbaev-says-he-is-resigning-/29830123.html|archive-date=19 March 2019|access-date=19 March 2019|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=19 March 2019 }}</ref> Nazarbayev announced his resignation as President of Kazakhstan, citing the need for "a new generation of leaders".<ref name="reuters">{{cite news |date=19 March 2019 |title=Veteran Kazakh leader Nazarbayev resigns after three decades in power |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kazakhstan-president/president-of-kazakhstan-nursultan-nazarbayev-resigns-idUSKCN1R01N1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320043009/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kazakhstan-president/president-of-kazakhstan-nursultan-nazarbayev-resigns-idUSKCN1R01N1 |archive-date=20 March 2019 |access-date=19 March 2019 |work=Reuters}}</ref> The announcement was broadcast in a televised address in [[Astana]] after which he signed a decree ending his powers from 20 March 2019.<ref name="reuters"/> [[Kassym-Jomart Tokayev]], speaker of the upper house of parliament, was appointed as [[President (government title)|president]] of the country until the end of the presidential term.<ref name="reuters"/>

Notwithstanding his resignation as president, he continued to head the ruling [[Nur Otan]] party and remains a member of the [[Constitutional Council (Kazakhstan)|Constitutional Council]]. In his televised address Nazarbayev pointed out that he had been granted the honorary status of ''elbasy'' (leader of the nation, leader of the people{{notetag|Etymology of ''elbasy'': in Turkic languages, 'el'/'il' means 'the people', 'nation', '(home)land', etc., and 'bas'/'bash' means 'head' (both literally and in the meaning of 'leader'). A similar historical title is ''[[ilkhan (title)|Ilkhan]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} }}), the title bestowed upon him by parliament in 2010.<ref name="rferlresign"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Обращение Главы государства Нурсултана Назарбаева к народу Казахстана – Официальный сайт Президента Республики Казахстан |url=https://www.akorda.kz/ru/speeches/internal_political_affairs/in_speeches_and_addresses/obrashchenie-glavy-gosudarstva-nursultana-nazarbaeva-k-narodu-kazahstana |access-date=13 January 2023 |website=Akorda.kz |language=ru}}</ref> The title was later removed due to the cancellation of the Law on the First President.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kazakhstan Annuls Law 'On the First President' |url=https://thediplomat.com/2023/01/kazakhstan-annuls-law-on-the-first-president/ |access-date=13 January 2023 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Various colleagues of Nazarbayev reacted within hours of the announcement, with Uzbek President [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]] holding a telephone conversation with Nazarbayev, calling him a "great politician".<ref>{{cite web|title=Shavkat Mirziyoyev Talks with the First President of Kazakhstan on the Phone|url=https://president.uz/en/lists/view/2438|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320231415/https://president.uz/en/lists/view/2438|archive-date=20 March 2019|access-date=21 March 2019|website=president.uz}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Shavkat Mirziyoyev: Nursultan Nazarbayev is a great politician|url=https://www.inform.kz/en/article/3509084|work=Inform|date=19 March 2019}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In a cabinet meeting, Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] praised Nazarbayev's leadership, even going as far as to say that the [[Eurasian Economic Union]] was Nazarbayev's "brainchild".<ref>{{cite web|last=Ruptly|date=20 March 2019|title=Russia: Putin praises former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJszdTom8VI&app=desktop |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/zJszdTom8VI| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Other world leaders who sent messages to Nazarbayev included [[Ilham Aliyev]], [[President of Azerbaijan]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic|url=https://en.president.az/articles/32468|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321022944/https://en.president.az/articles/32468|archive-date=21 March 2019|access-date=21 March 2019|website=en.president.az}}</ref> [[Alexander Lukashenko]], [[President of Belarus]], and [[Emomali Rahmon]], [[President of Tajikistan]].

According to Nazarbayev himself, he described his intention for stepping down was due to "peak of trust" by the people and that it was "necessary to leave", recalling his memories in attending funerals of Soviet leaders [[Leonid Brezhnev]], [[Yuri Andropov]] and [[Konstantin Chernenko]], embarking that "there is still a limit of human capabilities."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|date=21 October 2021|title=Какая болезнь повлияла на решение Назарбаева уйти в отставку|url=https://www.zakon.kz/5087603-kakaya-bolezn-povliyala-na.html|access-date=22 October 2021|website=Zakon.kz|language=ru}}</ref>