Abish Kekilbayev

Abish Kekilbayev (Kazakh: Әбіш Кекілбайұлы, Äbış Kekılbaiūly, [æˈbɘʃ kʲekɘlˌbɑjʊˈɫɤ]; 6 December 1939 – 11 December 2015), was a Kazakh public and political figure, Hero of Labour of Kazakhstan (2009), People’s Writer of Kazakhstan (1992), and Honored Cultural Worker of the Kyrgyz Republic (1995). He is a laureate of the State Prize, a philologist, and an academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. He also holds the title of Honorary Professor at both Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. Served as a Senator of Kazakhstan from 2002 to 2010, State Secretary of Kazakhstan from 1996 to 2002, and the Supreme Council Chairman from 1994 until its dissolution in 1995.

During the Soviet period, Kekilbayev worked as literary writer in which his work have become a noticeable phenomenon in the literary life of Kazakhstan. He served as the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Kazakh SSR, the second secretary of Board of the Union of Writers, the head of department of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Kazakhstan, Head of the Records Office for Culture and Inter-Ethnic Relations of the Kazakh SSR Presidential Administration, the editor-in-chief of the Egemen Qazaqstan newspaper, the literary employee of the Qazaq adebiety newspaper, the head of literature and art department of the Leninshyl jas newspaper editorial office.

Throughout his life Kekilbayev was recognized with several awards and titles such as Hero of Labour (firstier kazakh writer and man, which with this award) National Writer of Kazakhstan, laureate of the State Prize, a philologist, academician of the Academy of Social Sciences, Emeritus Professor of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and of the L. Gumilyov Eurasian State University. Nickname – Abish Tagan.