On Saturday, Serdar Berdimuhamedov was officially inaugurated as Turkmenistan’s new president, succeeding his father as the Central Asian country’s leader.
Serdar Berdymukhamedov, the son of the former leader, Gurbanguly, who announced over the weekends that he is stepping down, has had a dizzying climb to the top.
Berdimuhamedov, who was proclaimed the winner of the presidential campaign on March 12 previously this year, was sworn in at the Rukhiyet Palace in Ashgabat as president of Turkmenistan.
However, nothing is revealed about the 40-year-personality. He is rarely seen in society. He has read loyally from his papers on the few times he has given addresses outside of the United States.
He shall serve for seven years, as per Turkmenistan’s Law, and will succeed his father Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who has been acting head since December 2006.
Exile-run major media outlets are not inspiring. Serdar comes out as a grumpy guy in their observations.
When the Democratic Party’s members assembled on February 14 to vote overwhelmingly to support Serdar as their nominee, they had nothing but praise for him.
An official news agency item on the assembly stated, “Speakers acknowledged the exceptional leadership and organizational qualities of their nominee for president.” “He has acquired the confidence of his colleagues as a humble and affable person, a nice family man, and a positive lifestyle practitioner.”
Serdar earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture at Turkmen State University in 2001. He studied diplomacy at the Russian State Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy while serving at the Turkmen Embassy in Moscow from 2008 to 2011.
The ensuing years were a whirlwind tour of occupations that appeared to be geared to prepare Serdar for his eventual role as dictator of the land. He served as the deputy head of the state agency in charge of managing the country’s sources of energy for three years, from 2012 to 2013. He led the Foreign Ministry’s media department for two years from 2016-to 17. He was appointed as a member of the government in December 2016.
So according to formal election results released on Tuesday following an irregular rhythm in counting, the youthful Berdimuhamedov, 40, received 72.97 percent of the vote, far clear of his nearest challenger, Khyrdyr Nunnayev, who received 11 percent.
Until his father declared the surprise election last month, he was acting as vice-chairman of Turkmenistan’s Cabinet of Ministers.
Serdar, on the other hand, has been tasked with keeping a careful check on the status of the economy. This mission has been carried out with a fussy devotion evocative of Berdymukhamedov’s elder. Serdar was assigned by his dad with the hands-on responsibility of conducting checks in the provinces to guarantee bazaar sellers were not participating in price gouging before the New Year celebrations at a Cabinet conference in December.
Because of his youth, the current president is almost Central Asia’s first digital native. He should be able to use digital technologies to gain a better understanding of the outside world’s story as Turkmenistan’s president if he so desires, making the risk of being duped by dishonest minions significantly reduced.