President of Kyrgyzstan


The President of Kyrgyzstan is the head of state and the highest official of the Kyrgyz Republic. The president, according to the constitution, "is the symbol of the unity of people and state power, and is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, and of an individual and citizen." The president is directly elected for no more than one six-year term by the Kyrgyz electorate. The office of president was established in 1990 replacing the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet that existed, in different forms, from 1927 whilst the country was known as the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic.
The first popularly elected officeholder was Askar Akayev, who served from October 1990 until March 24, 2005. In July 2005, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was elected. He was re-elected in 2009, but large riots in April 2010 forced him to resign and flee the country. Roza Otunbayeva was selected in April 2010 to head the interim government. She was officially inaugurated on July 3, 2010, as president for a limited term, until elections could be organised. Her successor, Almazbek Atambayev, was elected in the 2011 Kyrgyz Presidential Election and subsequently succeeded Otunbayeva on 1st December that year.
On October 16, 2017, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, the former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, was elected President of the country. He took office on 24 November 2017.

Oath of office

Upon taking office, the President raises his/her right arm and puts it on the Kyrgyz Constitution while reciting the following oath:
Russian Translation:
English Translation:

Election

Qualifications

The office of president is open to all citizens of Kyrgyzstan who are no younger than 35 years of age, and no older than 65 years of age. A candidate must have a command of the state language, and have resided in the Republic for no less than 15 years before the nomination of his or her candidacy for the position. The president cannot be a deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh, occupy other positions, or carry out entrepreneurial activities, and must suspend activity in political parties and organizations for their period in office.
On taking office the president must take the following oath, stipulated by Article 45 of the constitution, within 30 days of election before the assembled members of the legislative chamber:

Electoral law

The president is elected by the citizens of Kyrgyzstan by a majority of votes cast. These elections are held on the basis of universal suffrage, and by secret ballot. To become a candidate a person must obtain the signatures of fifty thousand registered voters.
For an election to be considered valid the turnout must not be lower than fifty percent. Similarly, if a candidate wins the backing of fifty percent of the voters who participated they are the winner. Should no candidate win an outright majority in the first round, the two candidates with the highest number of votes face each other in a second ballot.

Inauguration ceremony

The Inauguration ceremony of the President of Kyrgyzstan is a ceremony that takes place to mark the start of a new term for the President of Kyrgyzstan.
List of inaugural ceremonies
DatePresidentLocationDocument Sworn OnNotes
December 10, 1991Askar AkayevWhite House, BishkekConstitution of the Kyrgyz SSRIt was the first presidential inauguration in the history of Kyrgyzstan.
October 29, 1995Askar AkayevWhite House, BishkekConstitution of Kyrgyzstan
December 24, 2000Askar AkayevPhilarmonic Hall named after Toktogul SatylganovConstitution of Kyrgyzstan
August 14, 2005Kurmanbek BakiyevAla-Too SquareConstitution of KyrgyzstanIt took place on Ala-Too Square for the first time. The President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Prime Minister of Tajikistan, Oqil Oqilov, the Chairman of the National Assembly of Belarus, Gennady Novitsky, the Minister of Defense of Turkey, Vecdi Gönül, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Borys Tarasyuk attended the inauguration.
August 2, 2009Kurmanbek BakiyevGovernment House, BishkekConstitution of Kyrgyzstan
July 3, 2010Roza OtunbayevaPhilarmonic Hall named after Toktogul SatylganovConstitution of Kyrgyzstan
December 1, 2011Almazbek AtambayevPhilarmonic Hall named after Toktogul SatylganovConstitution of KyrgyzstanHe was inaugurated on December 1, 2011. The ceremony was attended by the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, and President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. The ceremony budget cost less than half of what was spent for inauguration ceremony of Kurmanbek Bakiev in 2009.
November 24, 2017Sooronbay JeenbekovAla Archa State ResidenceConstitution of Kyrgyzstan It was the first inauguration ceremony to take place at the Ala Archa State Residence.

Residences

The head of state holds significant power as provided for in the constitution. This states that they have the authority to:
The president may be dismissed from office by Parliament only on the basis of a charge made by the Legislative Assembly of state treason or another grievous crime supported by a ruling of the Constitutional Court. Such a decision requires the support of two-thirds of the Jogorku Kenesh who are immediately dismissed should the president be found innocent.

Succession

If the president becomes unable to carry out their duties for reasons such as death, illness or impeachment, the prime minister shall carry out their duties until the election of a new head of state. This must take place within three months of the termination of their Presidency.
Before 2017, Kyrgyzstan knew no peaceful transition of power from the president to president. Both Askar Akayev and Kurmanbek Bakiev were forced to leave their chairs by a civil unrest. Almazbek Atambayev was succeeded by Sooronbay Jeenbekov in 2017.

List of Presidents of Kyrgyzstan

The first column consecutively numbers the individuals who have served as president, while the second column consecutively numbers the Presidential terms or administrations.

I#A#Name
PictureTook officeLeft officePolitical party
11.
1991		Askar Akayev
Аскар Акаев
27 October 199029 October 1995Independent
12
1995		Askar Akayev
Аскар Акаев
29 October 199529 October 2000Independent
13.
2000		Askar Akayev
Аскар Акаев
29 October 200024 March 2005
Independent
23.
2000		Ishenbai Kadyrbekov
Ишенбай Кадырбеков

24 March 200525 March 2005Independent
3.
2000		Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Курманбек Бакиев
25 March 200514 August 2005People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan
34.
2005		Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Курманбек Бакиев
14 August 200515 October 2007People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan
34.
2005		Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Курманбек Бакиев
15 October 200723 July 2009Ak Jol
35.
2009		Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Курманбек Бакиев
23 July 20097 April 2010
Ak Jol
45.
2009		Roza Otunbayeva
Роза Отунбаева
7 April 2010
3 July 2010Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
45.
2009		Roza Otunbayeva
Роза Отунбаева
3 July 20101 December 2011Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
56.
2011		Almazbek Atambayev
Алмазбек Атамбаев
1 December 201124 November 2017Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
67.
2017		Sooronbay Jeenbekov
Сооронбай Жээнбеков
24 November 2017Incumbent
Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan

Living former presidents