Erlan Karin was born in 1976 in the village of Aksu, Sairam District, Turkestan Region.

In 1996, he graduated from K. Zhubanov Aktobe University with a degree in History and Geography and qualified as a History and Geography Teacher.

In 1999, he completed postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and Political Science of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

Candidate of Political Sciences.

Since 1996 – History and Geography teacher at Secondary School No. 33 in Aktobe.

Since March 1998 – staff member of the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for the Development of Kazakhstan; Deputy Director of the Institute for Russia and China.

Since July 2000 – Director of the Central Asian Agency for Political Studies.

Since 2002 – External adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Since 2003 – First Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party «Asar»; Director General of the International Institute of Contemporary Politics.

Since June 2004 – Head of the Center for Counter-Terrorism Programs.

Since May 2006 – Adviser to the Akim of Mangystau Region on political affairs.

Since February 2008 – Head of the Department of Domestic Policy of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Since November 2008 – Secretary of the «Nur Otan» Party for Strategic Development.

Since December 2013 – Visiting Professor at American University in Washington, D.C., USA.

Since October 2014 – Director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Since February 2017 – Chairman of the Management Board of JSC Republic TV and Radio Corporation «Qazaqstan».

From April 2019 to July 2020 – Adviser to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Since July 2020 – Assistant to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Since January 5, 2022 – State Secretary of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Since June 14, 2022 – State Counsellor of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Since June 30, 2026 – First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

On August 31, 2026, by Decree of the Head of State, he was appointed Vice President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

He has been awarded the Orders «Kurmet» (2010), «Dostyk», 2nd Degree (2019), «Barys», 2nd Degree (2022), «Barys», 1st Degree (2025), and «Otan» (2026); the Order of «Friendship» of the Republic of Uzbekistan (2024); the Letter of Appreciation from the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2020, 2021); the Certificate of Honor of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2021); the «Outstanding Civil Servant» badge of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Civil Service Affairs (2022); and the Medal of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan «For Contribution to Ensuring National Security» (2019).

He is the author and co-author of the following books:

• Soldiers of the Caliphate: Myths and Reality (2014);
• Between ISIS and Al-Qaeda: Central Asian Militants in the Syrian War (2017), co-authored with Jacob Zenn;
• Balbaltas: From the Orkhon to the Caspian Sea (2013);
• Consolidated Catalog of Cartographic Materials on the History of Kazakhstan, 17th–Early 20th Centuries (2023), co-authored with Galina Ksenzhik.