Kazakh President's Daughter Appointed Head Of Senate Committee

Darigha Nazarbaeva

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's elder daughter has been appointed to chair the Senate International Affairs, Defense, and Security Committee, just three days after she was appointed a member of the parliament's upper chamber.

Darigha Nazarbaeva's appointment to the Senate on September 13 came amid a cabinet reshuffle in which the post of prime minister and the defense and justice ministers were changed.

Nazarbaeva, 53, previously served as deputy prime minister for a year, prompting speculation she could eventually succeed her 76-year-old father, in power since 1989.

Nazarbaev, who wields sweeping powers in the oil-rich Central Asian country, has never officially designated a successor.

The Kazakh cabinet reshuffle came less than two weeks after the death of another Central Asian leader, Uzbek President Islam Karimov, at the age of 78.

Based on reporting by Interfax, Reuters, and Kapital.kz