Born on July 23, 1977 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Acting Chairman of the Board of the International Center for Interfaith and Interreligious Dialogue since January 2025, Marat Kalizhanov is a graduate of the Kazakh Ablai Khan State University of International Relations and World Languages and Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Between 1998 and 2002, he worked at the State Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2002, he joined the Department of Asia, Middle East and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In the same year, he was assigned to the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he served for three years. From 2005 to 2009, he worked as Councilor of the Diplomatic Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Bangkok, Thailand.
He served as Head of the Division of Security in Asia, and then Deputy Director of the Department of the Asian Security Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, he was appointed Deputy Director of the CIS Department and Deputy Director of the Department of Eurasian Integration. Between 2014 and 2019, Mr. Kalizhanov served as Deputy Head and then Acting Head of the State Protocol Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Prior to his appointment as Acting Chairman of the Board, Mr. Kalizhanov served as Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Sydney, Australia from 2019 to 2024.
Married, with two children.
