The president of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň prezidenti), officially the president and chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. The president is also the supreme commander in chief of the

Armed Forces of Turkmenistan The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Ýaragly Güýçleri), known informally as the Turkmen National Army () is the national military of Turkmenistan. It consists of the Turkmen Ground Forces, Ground Forces, the Turkmen Air F ...

and heads the State Security Council. Serdar Berdimuhamedow is the current president of Turkmenistan, the third in the history of the country since it gained independence with the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991. He succeeded his father,

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profes ...

when the latter stepped down in 2022 after a reign of 15 years, the first president to do so. In the 2022 election, Berdimuhamedow received 72.97% of the country's popular vote against nine other candidates. The country passed reforms in 2016 eliminating term limits for the presidency and removing the previous age requirement of below 70, as well as extending the term from five to seven years.

Requirements for presidents, removal from office, and succession

Requirements for candidates for president of Turkmenistan include the following: * Must have been born in Turkmenistan * Must be fluent in Turkmen * Must be at least 40 years old * Must have resided in Turkmenistan for the past 15 consecutive years * Must be employed The powers of the president of Turkmenistan may be terminated in accordance with article 57 of the Turkmen constitution in the event of: * Inability to perform their duties due to illness * Violation of the constitution and public laws * A

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in the president Should the president be removed from office as well as the in event of death or resignation, the chairman of the Assembly is legally appointed as

acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...

, with elections being held no later than 60 days after the fact. This has never taken place; in 2006, when Turkmenistan's only presidential vacancy occurred due to Niyazov's death in office, the

State Security Council of Turkmenistan The State Security Council of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Döwlet Howpsuzlyk Geňeşi/Түркменистаның Дөвлет Ховпсузлык Геңеши; russian: Государственный совет безопасност� ...

transferred the right to act as President to the first deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers on an ad-hoc basis. The requirement that an acting president does not have the right to run for president was also dropped.

Residence

The

Oguzkhan Presidential Palace Oguzhan Palace ( tm, Oguz han köşgi, Огуз хан көшги) is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Turkmenistan, located on Independence Square in the capital city of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. It has been the ...

is the principal residence/workplace of the president, located on Independence Square in

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

. The various halls of the palace are used to receive foreign leaders and sign presidential decrees. Former President

Saparmurat Niyazov Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov; tk, Saparmyrat Ataýewiç Nyýazow, in Cyrillic: Сапармырат Атаевич Ныязов (19 February 1940 – 21 December 2006), also known as Turkmenbashi, was a Turkmen politician who rule ...

owned a private residence in an official residence in Arshabil, a town 28 kilometres outside of Ashgabat.

Transport and security

The president of Turkmenistan utilizes a specially made

Boeing 777-200LR The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap bet ...

, painted in the national colours, during international and regional visits. These planes are provided by

Turkmenistan Airlines OJSC Turkmenistan Airlines ( tk, «Türkmenistan» awiakompaniýasy açyk görnüşli paýdarlar jemgyýeti, commonly known as Türkmenhowaýollary) is the flag carrier and only airline of Turkmenistan, headquartered in Ashgabat. It operates d ...

. The president employs a

Mercedes-Benz S-Class The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, formerly known as ''Sonderklasse'' (German for "special class", abbreviated as "S-Klasse"), is a series of full-sized luxury vehicle, luxury sedans, limousines and Armored car (VIP), armored sedans produced by the Germa ...

vehicle to transport him throughout the capital city. On some occasions, the vehicle is escorted by a mounted troop from the armed forces. The president also utilizes trains to transport them from one place to another. Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (51)

Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (51)

The Presidential Security Service'' (''Prezidentiniň howpsuzlyk gullugy'') is responsible for ensuring the protection and security of the president. Established in November 1990, it is a direct reporting body of the President of Turkmenistan. In the early 1990s, the Presidential Security Service was removed from the National Security Committee and transformed into an independent body. On 23 September 1994, the Law of Turkmenistan "On the operative-search activity" came into force, according to which one of the main tasks of the service is to ensure the security of the President of Turkmenistan. During

state visits A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

to foreign countries, the service provides at least 10 agents to protect the president. The Presidential Security Service is organized in the following way: *Secretariat *Duty Division *1st Division (Personal guard of the president) *2nd Division *3rd Division *4th Division *Special Operations Regiment **1st Battalion **2nd Battalion **3rd Battalion The Presidential Security Service is currently composed of 2,000 employees.

Heads of the Security Service

After the dismissal of Khojaberdiyev, the appointment of a new chief was not reported.

List of presidents of Turkmenistan

Timeline

Rank by time in office

References

External links

U.S. State Department profile of TurkmenistanRepublican Party of Turkmenistan
{{Heads of government of Turkmenistan Politics of Turkmenistan T

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

1990 establishments in Turkmenistan