The family affair that is Turkmenistan’s government appears to be readying a new member for a top post.

Former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, 67, currently Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council), appointed his eldest daughter Oguljahan Atayeva to be vice president of the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation back on December 7.

It might sound like a humble post, but Turkmen state media suddenly paid a lot of attention to the activities of the charitable foundation’s vice president. In fact, she was in her new job but a few days before Turkmenistan’s current president gave Atayeva the Arkadag Award for her “great contribution to the successful implementation of the humane social policy… [and], respect for the rights of those in need of care, especially children.”

The current president is 43-year-old Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Atayeva’s brother. “Arkadag” means “protector” in the Turkmen language, and it has long been the honorific state media use when referring to the siblings’ father.

Since he stepped down as president, state media have actually stepped up the reverence, referring to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov as “hero Arkadag,” though it is unclear what heroic deeds he ever accomplished.

Turkmenistan’s people are impoverished and are often short of food and adequate medical care. The isolationist policies of the government prevent the country from profiting on new trade routes being developed in Central Asia.

Rising star

Atayeva’s new position and the medal from her brother were the starting point in her rise to fame.

On March 15, Turkmen media reported on Atayeva’s meeting with Unicef’s representative in Turkmenistan, Jalpa Ratna.

On March 21, Atayeva met with US Ambassador Elizabeth Rood (see above) to discuss the foundation’s work with children.

On March 28, Turkmenistan hosted the international conference on the “Year of Peace and Trust: Developing International Activities for Children” in the recently built "smart" city of Arkadag, located not far from the capital Ashgabat.

That last engagement provided state media with opportunities to show Atayeva meeting with representatives from many countries, including Russia, Turkey, China, Kazakhstan and Iran.

The highlight for both Turkmen and Uzbek state media was Atayeva’s meeting during the conference with Saida Mirziyoyeva, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s eldest daughter.

Mirziyoyeva has worked as a deputy director in Uzbekistan’s Agency for Information and Mass Communications, worked in the presidential administration’s communications and information policy sector and, since August 2023, has served as the first assistant to the president.

Atayeva had been living in London where her husband, Dovlet Atayev, was an advisor at Turkmenistan’s embassy.

She and her husband returned to Turkmenistan after construction started on Arkadag city and Dovlet took the job of consultant to the head of the state committee in charge of building the new city.

Apparently, Atayeva’s father now has bigger plans for his eldest daughter than simply appointing her vice president of a charitable foundation.

Atayeva’s rise in politics is reminiscent of her brother Serdar’s ascension up the state ladder. Not much had been heard about Serdar Berdimuhamedov until November 2016, when he won a seat in parliament in a snap election to fill a vacant seat. There was no explanation about why the seat was vacant.

To a large extent, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov (portrait) organised the ascent of son Serdar (seated beneath portrait), but then pulled the rug from under him. Berdimuhamedov is now busy working on the rise of eldest daughter Oguljahan Atayeva (Credit: Turkmen state handout).

After being reelected in the parliamentary elections of 2018, Serdar leapt into top posts. He was deputy foreign minister, deputy governor then governor of Ahal Province, where Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat is located, and now also Arkadag. He moved up the ranks of government serving as minister of construction and deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, and sat in the State Security Council.

It was no surprise when Serdar was elected president in February 2022, just a few months after he reached the constitutional minimum age requirement of 40 years old.

The elder Berdimuhamedov had stepped down saying it was time for “young leaders” to govern Turkmenistan. Gurbanguly remained in government as chairman of the Halk Maslahaty, which previously served as a rubber-stamping body that functioned parallel to the country’s parliament, also a rubber-stamping body.

However, the former president clearly missed being head of state and his son appeared uneasy wearing the mantle of power, especially with his father looking over his shoulder constantly.

In January 2023, Chairman Berdimuhamedov addressed the Halk Maslahaty and said changes were needed to the legislative branch of government. So, the constitution was amended to make the Halk Maslahaty the dominant branch of government and its chairman the most powerful political figure in the country.

Moving up the ladder?

It appears being vice president of her father’s charitable foundation is only the start for Oguljahan Atayeva.

The Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation was founded in 2021. It has never received the sort of attention it has enjoyed since Atayeva’s appointment in December.

Neither Oguljahan or her sister Gulshan appeared much in state media all the years their father was president, or when their brother took over the post. But lately Atayeva has been competing with her father and brother for airtime on state television.

It is easy to see Atayeva is following a path similar to her brother’s ascent and there is a position that seems tailor-made for her, speaker of parliament.

When Turkmenistan’s first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, died in December 2006, according to Turkmenistan’s constitution, power should have been temporarily transferred to the speaker of parliament.

Instead, the announcement that the country’s health minister, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, had been named acting president came through about the same time that news broke that the speaker of parliament, coincidentally named Ovezgeldy Atayev (no relation to Dovlet), had been stripped of his position and was facing criminal charges.

All the speakers of parliament up to Atayev had been men. All the speakers of parliament since Atayev have been women.

The current speaker is Dunyagozel Gulmanova, appointed in April 2023.

Odds are that Gulmanova might not be staying in her post for much longer.

If Oguljahan Atayeva does become speaker of parliament, the top three state posts in Turkmenistan, namely Halk Maslahaty chairman, president and speaker of parliament, would all be occupied by a Berdimuhamedov.