Turkmenistan’s autocratic president has promoted his only son to a key government post, a development seen as laying the foundation for a political dynasty in the energy-rich Central Asian nation, The Associated Press reports.
The appointment of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s son, Serdar, as deputy prime minister in charge of economic and financial issues was announced Saturday in the government’s daily Neutral Turkmenistan.
Berdymukhamedov, 64, presides over the government and doesn’t have a prime minister, meaning that his son would answer directly to him.
Earlier this year, the president named his 39-year-old son deputy prime minister in charge of innovative technologies — the position now abolished by the new presidential decree.
The president’s son, who had previously served as a regional governor, a Cabinet minister and held other senior positions, is widely viewed as be...
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