President of Kyrgyzstan

The President of Kyrgyzstan is the head of state and the highest official of Kyrgyzstan. 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 two five-year terms 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 office-holder 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 Kyrgyzstani presidential election, 2011 and took over on 1 December 2011.