Jan 13 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan holds elections to the Mazhilis, its lower house of parliament, on Sunday.
Below is a look back at Kazakhstan under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the 20 years since independence in December 1991:
Dec. 16, 1991 - Kazakhstan declares independence, the last of the 15 former Soviet republics to take such a step.
Dec. 21, 1991 - Kazakhstan joins the new Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of 11 former Soviet republics, which de facto put an end to the Soviet Union and sapped virtually all of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's authority.
Nov. 15, 1993 - Kazakhstan introduces its new currency, the tenge, worth 500 Soviet-era roubles.
Dec. 13, 1993 - Kazakhstan ratifies the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) shortly after U.S. Vice-President Al Gore arrived on a visit to sign an agreement on dismantling Kazakhstan's nuclear arsenal, which includes 104 SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Aug. 31, 1995 - Nazarbayev wins an overwhelming majority - 89 percent - in favour of a constitution that grants him broad powers to railroad through his market reforms. He had won a referendum in April, with a 95 percent majority, to extend his presidential term until 2000.
Jan. 20, 1999 - Nazarbayev is sworn in after winning more than 81 percent of the vote in a Jan. 10 election. Candidate Serikbolsyn Abdildin said he had won as many votes as Nazarbayev, no matter what the official results showed.
-- Nazarbayev's only serious rival, former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, had been disqualified on a technicality.
March 26, 2001 - Kazakhstan opens an oil pipeline from the giant Tengiz field to the Russian port of Novorossiisk, giving the producer its first direct link to international markets. The 1,580 km (982 mile) Caspian Pipeline Consortium line came onstream with initial capacity of 560,000 barrels per day.
June 2001 - Kazakhstan, with China, Russia and the Central Asian states of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, signs a regional pact in Shanghai, agreeing to fight ethnic and religious militancy which threatens their common security.
Dec. 21, 2001 - The United States and Kazakhstan sign a pact underlining their interest in multiple east-west oil export routes. Nazarbayev and President George W. Bush meet in Washington and declare a commitment to strengthening what they called a long-term, strategic partnership.
November 2005 - Zamanbek Nurkadilov, a former close friend of Nazarbayev who became an outspoken critic, is found dead in his house.
Dec. 4, 2005 - Nazarbayev is returned for a further term as president with 91 percent of the vote. OSCE monitors brand the vote as flawed.
Feb. 21, 2006 - Kazakhstan's national security service, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, says five rogue members of its elite combat unit had been arrested over the Feb. 13 assassination of Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, a critic of Nazarbayev.
Aug. 18, 2007 - Nazarbayev's party wins 88 percent of the vote in a parliamentary election, with all other parties failing to reach a 7 percent hurdle for representation.
Oct. 6, 2009 - French President Nicolas Sarkozy oversees oil, gas and nuclear deals worth more than $6 billion with Kazakhstan during a visit, establishing France as a key investor in the resource-rich state.
Jan. 14, 2010 - Kazakhstan becomes the first former Soviet state to chair the OSCE, saying it will refocus Europe's main security and rights watchdog on tackling terrorism and development issues while brushing off criticism of its own record on democracy.
June 15, 2010 - Nazarbayev becomes 'Leader of the Nation' after parliament grants him immunity from prosecution and the right to shape policy after retirement.
April 4, 2011 - Nazarbayev wins an overwhelming victory with 96 percent of the vote in a snap presidential election criticised by European monitors for irregularities.
Oct. 13, 2011 - Kazakhstan adopts new legislation that bans prayer rooms in state buildings aimed at stamping out Islamist militancy.
Dec. 16/17, 2011 - A months-long protest by sacked oil workers erupts into riots. Officials say 17 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in clashes between riot police and protesters in the oil-producing region of Mangistau.
Jan. 15-16, 2012 - New parliamentary elections. (Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)
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