Wikipedia

Begenç Gündogdyýew

Lieutenant General Begenç Ataýewiç Gündogdyýew (born 16 November 1976) is a Turkmen military officer and politician who currently serves as the 10th minister of defence of Turkmenistan under President Serdar Berdimuhamedow. He previously served in this same position from 2011 to 2015, succeeding Ýaýlym Berdiýew.

Begenç Gündogdyýew
Gündogdyýew in 2021
Minister of Defense of Turkmenistan
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 June 2018
President
Preceded byÝaýlym Berdiýew
In office
29 March 2011 – 5 October 2015
PresidentGurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
Preceded byÝaýlym Berdiýew
Succeeded byÝaýlym Berdiýew
Secretary of the State Security Council of Turkmenistan
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 April 2022
PresidentSerdar Berdimuhamedow
Preceded byÇarymyrat Amanow
Head of the State Border Service of Turkmenistan
In office
1 March 2016 – 14 June 2018
Preceded byMyrat Yslamov
Succeeded byShadurdy Durdyyev
Personal details
Born
Begenç Ataýewiç Gündogdyýew

(1976-11-16) 16 November 1976 (age 48)
Ashgabat, Turkmen SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyDemocratic Party of Turkmenistan
Military service
Allegiance Turkmenistan
Branch/service Armed Forces of Turkmenistan
Years of service1993–present
RankLieutenant general

Biography

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Early career

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He was born in the city of Ashgabat in November 1976 to an ethnically Turkmen family. He joined the army in September 1993, attending the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense and graduating in June 1997 with a degree in command and tactical artillery troops. In March 2012, he graduated from the academic faculty of advanced training for the high command at the institute. In June 2012 he graduated in absentia from the Military Academy of Belarus with a degree in state and military administration. From 1997 to 2009, he served in various positions in the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan.[1] In July 2009, Gündogdyýew was made deputy Minister of Defense and concurrently the Head of the Main Department for Procurement and Logistics of Turkmenistan. Up until then, he was the Turkmen military attaché to the United States.[2] Four months later, he was made Chief of the General Staff, a position he would keep for 1 year and 144 days before he became the Minister of Defense of Turkmenistan, at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Defense Minister (1st time)

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In July 2011, he was demoted to colonel for his handling of the 2011 arms depot explosion.[3] One of his first major appearances in this role was in the Turkmen Independence Day Parade, where he inspected the troops on Independence Square. Gündogdyýew also oversaw military manoeuvres in the Caspian Sea in the second year of his tenure.[4] On 11 March 2012, he visited Turkmen cadets at the Belarusian University of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.[5]

 
Gündogdyýew (right) receiving the report from a military officer in October 2011.

On 25 January 2013, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow promoted him to major general (one-star). On 28 September 2021, the president promoted him to lieutenant general (two-star).[6]

Other positions

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He was dismissed as minister on 5 October 2015, being replaced by Ýaýlym Berdiýew, and appointed commander of the garrison of the Naval Forces, a position he would keep until the spring of 2016.[7] On 1 March 2016, he was appointed chief of the State Border Service of Turkmenistan and concurrently the commander of the Turkmen Border Troops. On 15 August 2017, President Berdimuhamedow demoted Gündogdyýew to colonel following the latter's failure to handle incidents on the Turkmen border with Iran and Afghanistan in July 2017, when four ISIS militants tried to cross into the territory of Turkmenistan.[8] Despite these incidents, he would be repromoted in March 2018 to major general.

Defense Minister (2nd time)

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He was reappointed defence minister on 14 June 2018.[9][10][11] On 22 January 2020, he received a "stern reprimand with final warning for improper performance of official duties".[12][13] He was reprimanded among other things for allowing troops to write off still serviceable cars to private individuals (for example, several ZIL and Ural trucks were sold from a motor pool stationed in the city of Serdar).[14] In June 2020, Gündogdyýew led the Turkmen delegation in place of the president at the 2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade on Red Square.[15]

On 6 April 2022 Gündogdyýew was concurrently appointed secretary of the State Security Council of Turkmenistan.[16]

Private life

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Besides the Turkmen language, he also speaks Russian and English. He is married with four children.[citation needed]

Awards

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Decorations

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Honorary ranks

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  • Türkmenistanyň Watan goragçysy ('Defender of Homeland Turkmenistan')[21]

Reprimands

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  • 22 January 2020, stern reprimand with final warning for "improper performance of official duties"[12]
  • 5 June 2022, reprimand for "inadequate performance of assigned duties, deficiencies in the work"[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ГУНДОГДЫЕВ Бегенч Атаевич | ЦентрАзия".
  2. ^ "Turkmenistan: New Deputy Defense Minister is Former DC Diplomat | Eurasianet". Eurasianet. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  3. ^ "People responsible for explosions in Turkmenistan to be tried by military tribunal | Turkmenistan.ru". www.turkmenistan.ru. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Turkmenistan Plans to Hold First-Ever Military Maneuvers in Caspian".
  5. ^ "Делегация из Туркменистана".
  6. ^ "Указ Президента Туркменистана О присвоении воинского звания генерал-лейтенант генерал-майору Гундогдыеву Б.А." (in Russian). Туркменистан: Золотой век. 28 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Berdymukhammedov Shuffles Turkmen Security Officials".
  8. ^ "Radio "Azatlyk": The Border Service chief reduced in rank for the border penetration by the ISIS militants | Chronicles of Turkmenistan". 29 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr".
  10. ^ "President Berdymukhammedov makes reshuffles in law enforcement agencies | Chronicles of Turkmenistan". 14 June 2018.
  11. ^ "New Minister of Defense of Turkmenistan appointed". 14 June 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Turkmen Leader Reprimands Ministers of National Security, Defense". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 23 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ "Названы причины выговоров министрам обороны и нацбезопасности Туркмении. Новости Кыргызстана сегодня". kant.kg. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Turkmenistan's president tells Putin cannot visit Russia for Victory Day Parade". TASS. 19 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Расширенное заседание Государственного совета безопасности Туркменистана" (in Russian). Туркменистан: Золотой век. 6 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Указы Президента Туркменистана о награждении работников правоохранительных и военных органов Туркменистана - Новости Туркменистана". Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  18. ^ http://tdh.gov.tm/?id=3837 Archived 31 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Президент Туркменистана подписал ряд документов:
  19. ^ "УКАЗ Президента Туркменистана О награждении руководителей военных и правоохранительных органов Туркменистана юбилейной медалью Туркменистана "Türkmenistanyň Bitaraplygynyň 25 ýyllygyna"" (in Russian). parahat.info. 11 December 2020.
  20. ^ "The Order of the President of Turkmenistan". tdh.gov.tm. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  21. ^ "УКАЗ Президента Туркменистана О присвоении членам Государственного совета безопасности Туркменистана почётного звания Туркменистана "Türkmenistanyň Watan goragçysy"" (in Russian). parahat.info. 3 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Указ Президента Туркменистана О Мяликгулыеве С.Г." (in Russian). Neytral'nyy Turkmenistan. 6 July 2022.
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