Political power in Turkmenistan is concentrated in the hands of the president; the names of other Turkmen politicians rarely appear in the press releases concerning the most important events in the country. However, this does not mean that officials from Berdymukhammedov’s inner circle have no influence over the state policy. Let us take a closer look at the politicians who surround the president.

One of Berdymukhammedov’s closest associates is Turkmen minister of foreign affairs and deputy Prime Minister Rashid Meredov, who supervises Turkmenistan’s relations with other states.

Meredov Rashid Ovezgeldiyevich was born in Ashgabat in 1960. In 1977, he entered the law department of the Moscow State University named after Lomonosov. In 1982, he became a lecturer in the civil law department of the Turkmen State University. Between 1984 and 1987, he was a post-graduate student at the Moscow State University named after Lomonosov. He holds a master’s degree in law. In 1987, he returned to the Turkmen State University as a lecturer and senior teacher, where he taught until 1990.

After Turkmenistan regained independence, Meredov held a number of positions in President Niyazov’s administration, starting from the head of one of the departments in the presidential Council for Coordination of Law Enforcement Agencies, up to the minister of foreign affairs in 2001. In 2003, Meredov was also appointed deputy Prime Minister.

In March 2005 Meredov fell into disgrace and lost his deputy Prime Minister position, although he was not completely ousted from power. He regained his influence following Niyazov’s death, and was re-appointed deputy Prime Minister in February 2007.

According to some sources, Meredov has played a significant role in the process of handing over the power to Berdymukhammedov. Allegedly, he could not run for the office himself, as he is not an ethnically ‘pure’ Turkmen (his mother is Azeri). He is also said to have helped to get rid of Akmurad Rejepov, former head of the presidential guard.