Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow

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Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow at the Summit of Non-Aligned States in Baku (2019)

Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (pronunciation: [ ɢʊɾbɑnʁʊˈlɯ mælɪkʁʊlɯjɛβɪtʃ bɛɾdɯmʊxɑmɛˈdoβ ], born June 29, 1957 in Babarap, Turkmen SSR , Soviet Union ) has been President of the Republic of Turkmenistan since 2007 . He bears the title "protector" ( Arkadag in Turkmen ). In February 2017 he was re-elected for a third term.

politics

Presidential Flag of Turkmenistan

Berdimuhamedow graduated from the stomatological faculty of the State Medical University of Turkmenistan in 1979 and completed the subsequent aspirant as a candidate medicinskich nauk ( doctorate ). From 1980 he worked as a dentist . He later received his habilitation in Moscow . In addition to his mother tongue, he also speaks Russian and German .

From 1990 to 1995 he was first assistant at the chair for therapeutic stomatology, then lecturer and dean at the stomatological faculty of the Medical University of Turkmenistan. From 1995 to 1997 he was director of the stomatological center of the Ministry of Health of Turkmenistan before being appointed Minister of Health in 1997 .

Since 2001, Berdimuhamedow was also Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan. He was the personal dentist of the dictatorial ruling head of state Saparmyrat Nyýazow . In November 2006 he represented Turkmenistan at the CIS summit in Minsk.

When Niyazov died on December 21, 2006, Berdimuhamedov took over the chairmanship of the Preparatory Commission for the funeral. On the same day, the Turkmenistan Security Council appointed him interim successor. From the presidential election in Turkmenistan in 2007 Berdymukhamedov was the winner. On February 14, he was sworn in as the country's second head of state and government. After he took office, the personality cult was reduced by its predecessor. For example, Nyýazow is referred to as the "founder of the nation" in the English translation of official press releases, but no longer as Türkmenbaşy (father of the Turkmen). Some particularly eccentric decrees of Nyýazow were withdrawn after his death, for example in the field of education. Instead, Berdimuhamedow seems to be building his own personality cult. For example, on the occasion of his 50th birthday in 2007, he was awarded the Watan Order (Order of the Motherland) specially created for him and issued commemorative medals with his portrait and an autobiography.

As it became known through the publication of cables from US embassies by Wikileaks , the Russian gas company ITERA presented the Russian businessman Igor Viktorovich Makarov with a yacht worth 60 million euros to Berdimuhamedov in 2008 .

In the 2012 presidential election in Turkmenistan , he was re-elected with 97.14 percent. Opposition parties were not allowed to do so. Berdimuhamedow competed against seven other candidates.

He is de facto chairman of the Unity Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (handed over to Babaev in 2013).

In April 2013, Berdimuhamedow took part in a horse race. Shortly after crossing the finish line first, two horse-lengths apart, Berdimuhamedow fell and remained unconscious. The guests, including foreign media, were then asked to delete all recordings of the fall. Dozens of people were arrested on suspicion of smuggling footage out of the arena. State television broadcast the race but did not mention the incident and abruptly stopped the video shortly after crossing the finish line. Berdimuhamedow is otherwise famous for his dazzling appearances, in that he likes to stage himself as a singer, DJ, guitar player, winner of car races or to write multi-volume books. In a video that was published in early August 2017, he demonstrated his “skills” in sniping and knife swinging.

In the 2017 presidential election in Turkmenistan , Berdimuhamedov was re-elected as president for another seven years with a result of 97.7 percent.

On orders from Berdimuhamedov, black cars were banned on the streets of Turkmenistan in early January 2018. These should either be towed or repainted. The reason is a particular preference of the Turkmen president for white color. An import ban for black vehicles was already imposed in 2015.

To deal with the corona virus , Reporters Without Borders announced that the word would officially be avoided as far as possible. The head of state recommended the rue , a sedative to narcotic herb found in the inner Asian steppes, to be burned in the country because the plant was also antitoxic.

In 2010, The Foreign Policy ranked Berdimuhamedow number 5 of the 23 worst dictators in the world. Turkmenistan ranks next to last on Reporters Without Borders' list of press freedom in 180 countries in 2020.

Trivia

Berdimuhamedow is a doctor of theoretical medicine, doctor of economics, professor, member of the Turkmen Academy of Sciences (since 2009) and has held the title of army general since 2007.

Music and other public appearances

In addition to his political duties, Berdimuhamedow also appears as a singer. On April 7, 2017, the president performed his song Vorwärts, vorwärts, only vorwärts, native Turkmenistan at a gala concert in Awaza , later the song was chosen as the anthem of the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games 2017 in Asgabat . The Turkmen head of state produced other songs together with his grandson Kerimguly Berdimuhamedow . This includes the title Sporty Turkmenistan , in which Kerimguly Berdimuhamedow raps in English and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow sings in Turkmen language . The President published other songs on the occasion of International Women's Day 2018 and Turkmen Horse Day 2019.

When asked about the comparison with Berdimuhamedov's predecessor as president, the Turkmen human rights activist Farid Tuchbatullin said in the Spiegel: “He was self-confident. Berdymuchammedow looks more like someone who wasn't allowed to play enough as a child and now has plenty of toys. He composes, allegedly writes three books a month, and he sings. He wants to demonstrate everything. "

Private

Berdimuhamedow is married with one son and two daughters. According to other reports, he has three daughters. On October 27, 2017, on Turkmen Independence Day, Berdimuhamedov presented his son Serdar Berdimuhamedow with a medal named after the president's father, Mälikguly. Serdar was also promoted from major to lieutenant colonel at the award ceremony. He is also a member of the Turkmen parliament (Majlis).

Web links

Commons : Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/2/13/gurbanguly-berdymukhamedov-wins-poll-with-98-of-vote
  2. ↑ See Turkmen info page with the biography of the president.
  3. ↑ Profile: Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov BBC-News of February 14, 2007, updated December 21, 2007.
  4. ↑ Cable Viewer: Viewing cable 08ASHGABAT1399, EXPAT SOURCES SAY THAT ITERA GAVE TURKMENISTAN A YACHT WORTH 60 MILLION EURO. Retrieved October 14, 2017 .
  5. ↑ 97 percent of the vote for the Turkmen President. Opposition not allowed in the election NZZ, February 13, 2012.
  6. ↑ Turkmenistan. Video: President falls spectacularly from his horse. Augsburger Allgemeine, May 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ Nicola Smith: Turkmenistan's dictator mocked over video portraying him as gun-toting, knife-throwing action hero . In: The Telegraph . August 3, 2017, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed October 15, 2017]).
  8. ↑ Deister and Weser newspaper (Dewezet) of February 14, 2017, page 2.
  9. ↑ FOCUS Online: Turkmen President bans black cars - because they do not please him . In: FOCUS Online . ( focus.de [accessed on February 24, 2018]).
  10. ^ Reporters Without Borders eV: Coronavirus: Taboo subject in Turkmenistan. Retrieved April 10, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Dietmar Pieper , DER SPIEGEL: Corona: Lies and conspiracy theories impede the fight - DER SPIEGEL - Politics. Retrieved April 10, 2020 .
  12. ↑ George BN Ayittey: The Worst of the Worst. In: Foreign Policy. Retrieved June 28, 2020 (American English).
  13. ↑ Ranking list of press freedom 2020. Reporters without borders
  14. ↑ Robin Roth: Turkmenistan's President Berdymuchamedow: His "greatest hits". In: Novastan German. May 3, 2019, accessed on May 10, 2019 (German).
  15. ↑ "Plenty of Toys". Spiegel, February 3, 2018
  16. ↑ Риа Новости: Биография Гурбангулы Бердымухамедова. February 13, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017 (Russian).
  17. ↑ Turkmenistan: President awards son with a medal named after his father . In: Novastan German . November 8, 2017 ( novastan.org [accessed December 9, 2017]).
personal data
SURNAME Berdimuhamedow, Gurbanguly
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Berdimuhammedow; Бердымухаммедов, Гурбангулы Мяликкулиевич (Russian); Berdimuhamedow, Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Turkmen President
BIRTH DATE June 29, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Babarap , Gokdepe Raion, Ashgabat Oblast , Turkmen SSR, USSR