Chingiz Aitmatov (1928–2008) was widely viewed as the greatest literary figure of modern Kyrgyzstan. An author who wrote both in Russian and his native Kyrgyz, Aitmatov became best known for his influential novel Jamila (1958), though later novels such as The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years (1980) and The Scaffold (1988) also garnered wide acclaim. As well as being a significant writer in any language, Aitmatov enjoyed a successful political career as his country's ambassador to the European Union, NATO and UNESCO.