Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Turkmen dentist and politician, 2nd President of Turkmenistan
Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022.

A dentist by profession, Berdimuhamedow served in the government under President Saparmurat Niyazov as Minister of Health beginning in 1997 and as Vice-President beginning in 2001. He became Acting President following Niyazov's death on 21 December 2006 and subsequently won the February 2007 presidential election. He faced no meaningful opposition in the vote and won by an overwhelming margin (89.2%). In the February 2012 presidential election, he was re-elected with 97% of the vote. In the February 2017 presidential election, he was re-elected to a third term with 97.7% of the votes. He was among candidates elected to the People's Council of Turkmenistan (Turkmen: Halk Maslahaty) on 28 March 2021, as a member from Ahal province. He reportedly received 100% of votes from the electors. On 14 April 2021, he was unanimously elected chairman of the People's Council, the upper chamber of the Turkmen parliament.Like his predecessor, Berdimuhamedow ruled an authoritarian regime in which he was the subject of a cult of personality. According to Human Rights Watch, Berdimuhamedow, his relatives, and his associates possess and exercise unlimited power over all aspects of public life.Berdimuhamedow stepped down as president on 19 March 2022, after a snap presidential election deemed as neither free nor fair, in which his son Serdar won.