View of the Presidential Palace (Oguzhan) in Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. Joost / stock.adobe.com
The President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, was given the rank of army general, becoming at 41 the highest-ranking official in this reclusive country in Central Asia and the equal of his father, a former president with large powers. Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic rich in hydrocarbons, has been ruled for more than 16 years by the Berdymoukhamedovs.
Having come to power at the end of 2006, the father, Gourbangouly, notably known for his unbridled cult of personality, resigned to everyone’s surprise in February 2022 and his son Serdar was elected president.
Personality cult
The awarding of the rank of army general to Serdar Berdymukhamedov comes a few days after Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, called in the country “Hero-Protector» («Arkadag“), received the title of “national leader of the Turkmen peopleand was appointed chairman of a supreme body with broad powers, thus strengthening his role.
Parliament decided, according to a resolution published in state media on Friday, to “to confer the military rank of Army General on the President of Turkmenistan, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Berdymukhamedov Serdar Gurbangulyevich“.
This rank was awarded on the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day to the President, who until now was a Colonel, like the Chief of Staff. The Minister of Defense is for his part general-lieutenant (the French equivalent of general of division). Turkmenistan, on the other hand, has no marshal, the highest rank.
Besides the Berdymukhamedovs, Turkmenistan’s first life president who died in 2006, Saparmurat Niazov, known as Turkmenbashi (Father of the Turkmens), was also an army general, as well as a former defense minister.
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Turkmen aged 18 to 27 are called upon to serve for two years in the army, which is mainly made up of conscripts and which, according to estimates, has between 30,000 and 40,000 soldiers.
In October 2022, Serdar Berdymukhamedov attended military exercises for the first time as commander-in-chief, in which Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones were used. But he remains more discreet than his father, who liked to show himself in particular shooting with weapons.
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