Akmaral Arystanbekova

Ms. Arystanbekova was born in Almaty on 12 May 1948 to parents Khaidar Arystanbekov and Sharbanu Nurmuhamedova. She graduated with honors from the Kazakh State University, Alma-Ata with Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1971 and in 1975 followed up with Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D). She continued her professional career as a faculty member at the Kazakh State University from 1975-1978.

In 1978-1983 she served as Chief Secretary of the Central Committee Kazakh Komsomol. She also served as Deputy Chairman from 1983-1984 and then as chairman from 1984-1989 of the Presidium of the Kazakh Society for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.[1]

Ms. Arystanbekova became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Government of Kazakhstan in November 1989 and served till December 1991. In December 1991 she was assigned to New York to make preparations for Kazakhstan's entry to the United Nations which took place on 2 March 1992. At that time she worked in the Permanent Mission of the USSR, later the Russian Federation, as a Senior counselor. From April 1992 to October 1999 Ms. Arystanbekova served as the first Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations. In 1996-1999 she also was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Cuba (non-resident). During 1994-1995 she was a Vice-President of the 49th session of the UN General Assembly. Her other roles in the UN were as Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board of UNICEF in 1998, and Vice-Chairman of the First Committee of 53rd UN General Assembly session during 1998.[1] She completed her assignment as Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations in October 1999 when Kofi Annan, was the Secretary-General.[3] Upon completion of the UN assignment she worked as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to France in 1999-2003 and Permanent Delegate to the UNESCO (1999-2001).Since 2003 she has served as Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

She is the author of six monographs and numerous scholarly papers on international relations and world politics in domestic and foreign publications and she gives lectures at universities as a professor of the international studies.

She is recipient of awards from the Supreme Council of Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, Moscow in 1970 and 1981, and the Kurmat Order in 1996.

• Meyer, Mary K.; Prügl, Elisabeth (14 January 1999). Gender Politics in Global Governance. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7425-8135-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

• Foreign relations of Kazakhstan
• List of the first female holders of political offices