Turkmenistan Government

What is the capital of Turkmenistan?

Country Name Turkmenistan
Full Country Name none
Local - Long none
Local - Short Turkmenistan
Former Name Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Etymology- history of name the suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country," so Turkmenistan literally means the "Land of the Turkmen [people]"
Government Type presidential republic; authoritarian
Capital Name Ashgabat (Ashkhabad)
Capital - geographic coordinate 37 57 N, 58 23 E
Capital Time Difference UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Independence 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National Holiday Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Constitution history: several previous; latest adopted 14 September 2016

amendments: proposed by the Assembly or Mejlis; passage requires two-thirds majority vote or absolute majority approval in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2023 (changed legislature from bicameral to unicameral Assembly or Mejlis; reestablished People's Council or Halk Maslahaty and named former president Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOV as National Leader of the Turkmen people

Turkmenistan Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Turkmenistan Government and Politics

Who is the president of Turkmenistan?

Executive Branch: chief of state: President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV (since 19 March 2022); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV (since 19 March 2022)

cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 7-year term (no term limits); election last held on 12 March 2022 (next to be held in 2029); note - on 11 February 2022, President Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOV announced his intent to retire, setting up the early presidential election

election results:

2022: Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV elected president; percent of vote - Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOW (DPT) 73%, Khydyr NUNNAYEV (independent) 11.1%, Agadzhan BEKMYRADOV (IAP) 7.2%, other 8.7%; note - Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOV is the son of previous president Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOV

2017: Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOV reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW (DPT) 97.7%, other 2.3%
Citizenship Criteria: citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Turkmenistan

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years
Legal System: civil law system with Islamic (sharia) law influences
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch: description: unicameral Assembly or Mejlis (125 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms); formerly the Assembly was the lower house of the bicameral National Council or Milli Genes, which consisted of an upper house, the People's Council or Halk Maslahaty, and the Assembly or Mejlis

elections: last held on 26 March 2023 (next to be held in 2028)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPT 55, APT 11, PIE 11, independent 48 (individuals nominated by citizen groups); composition as of February 2024 men 93, women 32, percentage women 25.6%

note: on 22 January 2023, a joint session of the then bicameral National Council or Milli Genes voted unanimously to abolish itself, re-establishing a unicameral legislature and a separate People's Council or Halk Maslahaty
Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court of Turkmenistan (consists of the court president and 21 associate judges and organized into civil, criminal, and military chambers)

judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president for 5-year terms

subordinate courts: High Commercial Court; appellate courts; provincial, district, and city courts; military courts
Regions or States: 5 provinces (velayatlar, singular - velayat) and 1 independent city*: Ahal Velayat (Arkadag), Ashgabat*, Balkan Velayat (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Velayat, Lebap Velayat (Turkmenabat), Mary Velayat

note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Political Parties and Leaders: Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan or APT [Bashim ANNAGURBANOV]

Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Ata SERDAROV]

Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs or PIE [Saparmurat OVGANOV]

note: all of these parties support President BERDIMUHAMEDOV; a law authorizing the registration of political parties went into effect in January 2012; unofficial, small opposition movements exist abroad
International Law Organization Participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International Organization Participation: ADB, CIS (associate member, has not ratified the 1993 CIS charter although it participates in meetings and held the chairmanship of the CIS in 2012), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic Representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Meret ORAZOV (since 14 February 2001)

chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500

FAX: [1] (202) 588-1500

email address and website:

turkmenembassyus@verizon.net

https://usa.tmembassy.gov.tm/en
Diplomatic Representation from US: chief of mission: Ambassador Matthew S. KLIMOW (since 26 June 2019)

embassy: 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street), Ashgabat 744000

mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, DC 20521-7070

telephone: [993] (12) 94-00-45

FAX: [993] (12) 94-26-14

email address and website:

ConsularAshgab@state.gov

https://tm.usembassy.gov/
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