President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, during an expanded meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Friday, replaced two members of the government. Both are highly educated, modern-thinking people who have proven themselves while working in various positions. Moreover, they are quite young, which corresponds to the current trend of rejuvenating leadership personnel.

Thus, Bahar Seyidova is only 39 years old. She replaced Mährijemal Mammedova as Deputy Prime Minister for Culture and Media, who had worked in this position since March 2020.

Bahar Seyidova was born in 1986 in the gengeshlik of Hojalyk, Darganata etrap, Lebap velayat. She began her career immediately after school in 2002 as a tenant farmer in the "Magtymguly" dayhan association of the Darganata etrap. After working there for a couple of years, she entered the Turkmen State Institute of Culture, from which she graduated in 2009.

Immediately after graduating from university, Bahar Seyidova worked for three years in the library department of the Cultural Center of her native Darganata etrap, until her organizational skills were noticed by local party leaders.

And this fact in her biography played an important role in the further fate of the young specialist. In the following four years, she improved her skills, working in various positions within the structure of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan.

From April 2016 to January 2018, the young leader already worked in the Turkmenabat city administration, holding the position of head of the civil registry office.

Starting in 2018, Bahar Seyidova headed the Turkmenabat city committee of the Democratic Party of the country for three years. And in 2021–2023, she held the responsible position of chairperson of the committee of the Halk Maslahaty Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan on science, education, the digital system, sports, and culture.

For a short time (from January to April 2023), she managed to work as the head of the Turkmenabat city committee of the Democratic Party, until she was elected in a nationwide vote as a deputy of the national parliament. And there – in the Mejlis of Turkmenistan of the VII convocation – Bahar Hojamyradovna headed the committee on science, education, culture, and youth policy.

And now, on February 7, 2025, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, by his decree, appoints Bahar Seyidova as Deputy Chairperson of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan.

During her years of work, the new deputy prime minister was awarded jubilee medals "Türkmenistanyň Garaşsyzlygynyň 30 ýyllygyna" and "Magtymguly Pyragynyň 300 ýyllygyna".

Another new member of the government is Mammetguly Astanagulov, who replaced Serdar Jorayev as Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan, who had worked in this position for just over two years.

The new head of the Ministry of Finance is almost two years older than the aforementioned member of the government – Deputy Prime Minister Bahar Seyidova. But unlike her, Mammetguly Astanagulov has a slightly less extensive list of positions recorded in his work book.

He is a native of Ashgabat – immediately after school, he entered the Osh State University of Kyrgyzstan, from which he graduated in 2007 with a degree in economics.

He began his career in 2008 as a specialist in the treasury department, chief specialist of the sub-department for accounting for the execution of the centralized budget of the treasury department of the Main Financial Department of the city of Ashgabat.

His further fate was mostly connected with the Ministry of Finance of Turkmenistan. In the period 2010–2017, Mammetguly Rozyguliyevich held various positions in the State Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance.

In the following three years, he headed the revenue department of the State Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the country.

The next step in his career growth was a very responsible position as a leading specialist in the economic analysis and social issues sector of the Department of Economic Development of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, where he worked in 2020–2022.

For the next two years, he already applied his experience and knowledge as a leading specialist in the computer systems and information security sector, as well as electronic document management of the Department of Computer Technologies of the Office of the President of Turkmenistan.

And his last position before the new appointment was the post of deputy head of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan. And as already reported, on February 7 of this year, Mammetguly Rozyguliyevich Astanagulov, by decree of the President of the country, is appointed to the position of Minister of Finance and Economy.

ORIENT