Following Nyýazow's death in December 2006, the
State Security Council of Turkmenistan appointed Berdimuhamedow acting president. The council stated in its announcement that
Öwezgeldi Ataýew, who, as the chairman of the
Assembly of Turkmenistan was to have become the acting president, was not appointed "in view of the fact that the prosecutor-general had instituted criminal proceedings against him". in
Tehran, 2007 Article 60 of the Turkmen Constitution stipulated that the acting president "may not stand for election to the Presidency", which would have barred Berdimuhamedow from running in the 2007 presidential elections. However, on 24 December 2006, the
People's Council voted to remove this provision, making him eligible for the election as one of the six chosen candidates, all members of the
Democratic Party of Turkmenistan. Berdimuhamedow was supported by the political elite, and the official results showed him as winning 89% of the vote. Berdimuhamedow's appointment as interim president and subsequent run for president, however, violated the constitution. In his first presidential trip abroad, Berdimuhamedow visited
Saudi Arabia in mid-April 2007. There he performed the
Umrah pilgrimage and met with
King Abdullah. He then visited
Russia and President
Vladimir Putin at the end of the same month. After taking office, Berdimuhamedow reversed several of Nyýazow's more eccentric policies. Internet cafés offering free and uncensored web access opened in
Ashgabat, compulsory education was extended from nine to ten years and classes in sports and foreign languages were re-introduced into the curriculum, and the government announced plans to open several specialised schools for the arts. He called for reform of education, health care and pension systems, and government officials of non-Turkmen ethnic origin who had been sacked by Nyýazow were allowed to return to work. He also restored the pensions of 100,000 elderly people whose pensions Nyýazow had slashed in the face of an unspecified budget crisis. Later on, he reopened the Turkmen Academy of Sciences, which had been closed by Nyýazow.
Dmitry Medvedev and
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, September 2009 In 2015, work on
TAPI began under his government. In February 2017, he was reelected to a third term as President of Turkmenistan (seven-year term) with nearly 98% of the votes in his favour and with an eligible voter turnout of 97%. In October 2017, he offered a top Turkmen-bred variety of the Central Asian shepherd dog to Vladimir Putin. Berdimuhamedow served as president of the
National Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan. In 2020, Berdimuhamedow presided over the
COVID-19 pandemic in Turkmenistan. He was among eight world leaders to have received the
satiric Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the
COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 10 November of that same year, he unveiled a golden statue of his favourite dog breed, the
Central Asian shepherd. Berdimuhamedow replaced the Interior Minister Mammetkhan Chakiyev with his deputy Ovezdurdy Khojaniyazov on 1 July 2021. Khojaniyazov has little public profile to speak of, but one of his most recent positions, as of May at least, was as deputy head of the Awaza tourist recreation zone. The previous interior minister,
Isgender Mulikov, was arrested, sentenced to a lengthy prison term on corruption charges, and shown on state television handcuffed in a prison robe with his head shaved. In July 2021, Berdimuhamedow ordered the deployment of troops and heavy weapons and armour on the
Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, in order to avoid a
spillover of the Afghan conflict into Turkmenistan. In February 2022, it was reported from
Reuters that Berdimuhamedow was planning to resign after an early
presidential election on 12 March, fuelling speculation that he would be preparing for his son Serdar to succeed him as the next President. Berdimuhamedow did not contest the election, which was subsequently won by Serdar, establishing Turkmenistan as the first Central Asian country to transfer power
dynastically from father to son. Serdar was inaugurated as the next President on 19 March.
Totalitarianism receives Berdimuhamedow in his house, 2015 Upon taking office, Berdimuhamedow eased travel restrictions and reopened libraries in rural areas. He also took steps to curb Nyýazow's extensive
personality cult. He called for an end to the elaborate pageants of music and dancing that formerly greeted the president on his arrival anywhere, and said that the Turkmen "sacred oath", part of which states that the speaker's tongue should shrivel if he ever speaks ill of Turkmenistan or its president, should not be recited multiple times a day but reserved for "special occasions". He also gave up his right to rename any landmarks, institutions, or cities, restored the traditional names of the months of the year and days of the week (Nyýazow had renamed them after himself and his mother, among other things), and announced plans to move the
gold rotating statue of Nyýazow from Ashgabat's central square. Despite these changes, Berdimuhamedow's regime remained rigidly authoritarian; indeed, in 2007, he ruled out any move toward Western-style democracy.
Freedom House rated Berdimuhamedow's Turkmenistan as one of the most repressive and "closed" regimes in the world. It has ranked Turkmenistan near the bottom of its
Freedom in the World rankings since the country's independence, a state of affairs that has continued since Berdimuhamedow took office. In 2017, the country was one of 11 with the lowest aggregate scores for political and civil rights.
Human Rights Watch noted that Berdimuhamedow not only has complete control over public life and the media, but presides over a regime that does not tolerate "alternative political or religious expression."
Reporters Without Borders (RWB) has ranked Turkmenistan near the bottom of its
Press Freedom Index for most of Berdimuhamedow's tenure, as it did under Nyýazow. In 2017, RWB ranked Turkmenistan 178th out of 180 countries surveyed, ahead of
Eritrea and
North Korea. RWB noted that internet access is heavily censored in Turkmenistan, and that
satellite dishes have been removed by government officials. In 2008, he dismissed
Akmyrat Rejepow, the longtime chief of the presidential security detail and one of the main proponents of Nyýazow's personality cult. In 2011, he sang a song on a video posted to
YouTube. In May 2013, he fell off his horse during a race. The fall was censored on TV but leaked online, and mocked on an episode of
HBO's
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in 2019. Journalists leaving the country following the accident reported that their electronic devices were searched for traces of footage of the incident. In July 2013,
Jennifer Lopez publicly apologised for singing “Happy Birthday!” to Berdimuhamedow during a sponsored concert, stating she was not aware of the
human rights issues in Turkmenistan prior to the show. In August 2013, Berdimuhamedow suspended his Democratic Party of Turkmenistan membership for the duration of his presidency, ostensibly to remain "above partisan politics" and "promote a multiparty system." at the 18th Summit of Non-Aligned Movement in Baku, 2019 In 2015, a golden statue of Berdimuhamedow riding a horse atop a white-marble cliff was erected in Ashgabat. The Turkmenistan Parliament abolished term limits for the presidency in September 2016, which allowed Berdimuhamedow to run for a third term. In January 2018, Berdimuhamedow ordered the impounding of black cars in the capital because he considered the colour white to be "lucky". Police seized dark-coloured vehicles in Ashgabat and their owners were told they must pay to have them repainted silver or white. The capital, known as the 'City of White Marble', holds the world record for the highest concentration of white-marble buildings. Berdimuhamedow is a known lover of the colour white, living in a white palace and travelling in white limousines. It was later reported that the ban extended to vehicles of all colours except white. In July 2018, he appeared in a
rap video with his
grandson. He had previously lifted weights on camera, and also acted as
DJ. By decree of Berdimuhamedow in January 2019, the government will gradually end state funding of the
Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan; it will be phased out in three years.
Violation of individual rights In 2010, the Ukrainian magazine
Obozrevatel named Berdimuhamedow the fifth-worst dictator in the world out of 23 highlighted. In the Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders), Turkmenistan ranks 176 out of 178. Turkmenistan has more political prisoners than any of the other former countries of the former Soviet Union.
Corruption The country's economy is under total state control. Numerous attempts to attract foreign investors into the country often end in lawsuits in international courts. In 2018, the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (arbitration, part of the World Bank group of organisations) received claims against Turkmenistan from Sece Inşaat (Turkey) and investment company Unionmatex Industrieanlagen GmbH (Germany). In 2019, the Belarusian construction company Belgorkhimprom also filed a similar claim with the court, to which Turkmenistan should pay about $200 million. Investors talk about discrimination by the Turkmen authorities, politicised bureaucracy, and a high level of corruption. In the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, Turkmenistan ranked 161 among 180 countries in 2018. This is the lowest rating among countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In 2019, Turkmenistan ranked 164th among 180 countries in the ranking of economic freedom.
Cult of personality Berdimuhamedow uses the honorific title
Arkadag, translating to "protector" in the
Turkmen language. Berdimuhamedow's grandfather and father both serve as part of his cult of personality. His grandfather, Berdimuhamed Annayev, has since 2018 been a posthumous recipient of the Russian
Order of Honour, being one of two awards he holds (the other being the Soviet
Order of the Badge of Honour). The
Berdimuhamed Annayev 1st Specialized Military School of the
Ministry of Defence is named in his honour. A museum in the defence ministry is also named after him. In May 2020, a special delegation from Russia led by
Deputy Minister of Defence Alexander Fomin brought the banner of Annayev's unit to
Ashgabat, being trooped through the square in front of the
Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex during the inaugural
Victory Day Parade in the capital. On 1 September 2009, Secondary School No. 27 was renamed after Berdimuhamed Annayev and was opened with his son at the opening ceremony. In October 2012, the Main Drama Theater of Turkmenistan staged a play based on Berdimuhamedow's book about his grandfather called "Good Name Imperishable". Military Unit 1001 of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs is named in honour of Berdimuhamedow's father, Malikguly Berdimuhamedow. In addition, in the town of Yzgant, the Palace of Culture is named after Berdimuhamedow's father, and a bust of him stands in front of it. On 20 December 2022, the
National Council passed a decree naming the new capital of
Ahal Province "
Arkadag" in honour of Berdimuhamedow. Additionally, three buildings were named in honour of Berdimuhamedow or members of his family: a health and rehabilitation center in his honour, the horse breeding academy after his great-uncle, and a pedagogical school after his grandfather. The 21 January 2023 presidential decree appointing Berdimuhamedow chair of the
People's Council contains the following paragraph as justification for his appointment as National Leader:"Considering the tremendous merits in establishing a solid foundation for a democratic and secular state with rule of law, all-around development and strengthening the international prestige of independent neutral Turkmenistan, strengthening the unity of society, harmony and cohesion of the people during long years of state and social work, recognition as a prominent statesman and politician, who has received great honor, great respect, and esteem of the Turkmen people, high organizational skills in wise management demonstrating an outstanding example of competence, decisiveness, and leadership, successfully implementing the humane policy of "The state is for the man!" in the era of the Renaissance of the new era of the powerful state..." In February 2023, a new magazine,
Arkadagly Ýaşlar ("Youth with Arkadag") began publication. On 30 September 2023 the
Assembly of Turkmenistan passed a law creating the Arkadag medal, a state award to be granted to citizens and non-citizens who have made "a weighty contribution to development of social, public, humanitarian, charitable, volunteer activity and in the organisation of medical services, rehabilitation as well as financial and material aid, consultation and the technical aid to children and the youth, who are need of assistance." ==Post-presidency and National Leader==