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 |
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/ |