Erlan Karin

Birth date and place

1976; Aksu village, Sairam District, Turkestan Region.

Education

• 1996 – Graduated from K. Zhubanov Aktobe University with a degree in History and Geography and qualified as a History and Geography teacher.
• 1999 – Completed postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and Political Science of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
• Academic degree: Candidate of Political Sciences.

Biography

Erlan Karin is a public official in Kazakhstan. He began his career as a schoolteacher, then worked in political research, party and government roles.

He led the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President and the Qazaqstan TV and Radio Corporation. He has authored or co-authored four books: “Balbaltas: From the Orkhon to the Caspian Sea” (2013), “Soldiers of the Caliphate: Myths and Reality” (2014), “Between ISIS and Al-Qaeda: Central Asian Militants in the Syrian War” (2017, with Jacob Zenn), and “Consolidated Catalog of Cartographic Materials on the History of Kazakhstan, 17th–Early 20th Centuries” (2023, with Galina Ksenzhik).

Career from source

• 1996 – History and Geography teacher, Secondary School No. 33, Aktobe.
• March 1998 – Staff member of the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for the Development of Kazakhstan, and Deputy Director of the Institute for Russia and China.
• July 2000 – Director of the Central Asian Agency for Political Studies.
• 2002 – External adviser to the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
• 2003 – First Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party “Asar” and Director General of the International Institute of Contemporary Politics.
• June 2004 – Head of the Center for Counter-Terrorism Programs.
• May 2006 – Adviser to the Akim of Mangystau Region on political affairs.
• February 2008 – Head of the Domestic Policy Department of the Administration of the President of Kazakhstan.
• November 2008 – Secretary for Strategic Development of the Nur Otan Party.
• December 2013 – Visiting Professor at American University in Washington, D.C.
• October 2014 – Director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan.
• February 2017 – Chairman of the Management Board of the Republic TV and Radio Corporation “Qazaqstan”.
• April 2019 – July 2020 – Adviser to the President of Kazakhstan.
• July 2020 – Assistant to the President of Kazakhstan.
• 5 January 2022 – State Secretary of Kazakhstan.
• 14 June 2022 – State Counsellor of Kazakhstan.
• 30 June 2026 – First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration.
• 31 August 2026 – appointed Vice President of Kazakhstan.

Awards from source

• Order of Kurmet (2010).
• Order of Dostyk, 2nd degree (2019).
• Order of Barys, 2nd degree (2022).
• Order of Barys, 1st degree (2025).
• Order of Otan (2026).
• Order of Friendship of the Republic of Uzbekistan (2024).
• Letter of Appreciation from the President of Kazakhstan (2020, 2021).
• Certificate of Honor of the President of Kazakhstan (2021).
• Outstanding Civil Servant badge of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs of Kazakhstan (2022).
• National Security Committee medal “For Contribution to Ensuring National Security” (2019).