Batyr Ataýewiç Berdiýew (born 3 October 1960) is a Turkmen former politician, who served as the foreign minister of Turkmenistan from 2000 to 2001. He also worked as an ambassador.

Political career

From 1990 to 1991, he was a correspondent for the ''Soyuz'' and ''Zhizn'' newspapers, which are publications of the Foreign Affairs ministry of

Soviet Turkmenistan The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Turkmenistan, the Turkmen SSR, TuSSR, Turkmenistan, or Turkmenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union located in Soviet Central Asia, ...

. From 1992 to 1994, he served as deputy foreign minister. From 1994 to 2000, Batyr Berdiýew was the ambassador of Turkmenistan to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, and the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

. From 28 July 2000 to 7 July 2001, Berdiýew served as foreign minister of Turkmenistan, but was dismissed for alcoholism, poor knowledge of the native language Turkmen, a weakness for women, and failure to understand the problems of the

Caspian Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea *The Caspian languages spoken in northern Iran and southeastern Azerbaij ...

and

Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

s and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Later, he was replaced by

Raşit Meredow Raşit Öwezgeldiýewiç Meredow (; born 29 May 1960) is a Turkmen politician and diplomat who has served as the fourth Vice President of Turkmenistan, vice president of Turkmenistan under President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and his son, Serda ...

at the request of President of Turkmenistan

Saparmyrat Nyýazow Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov (19 February 1940 – 21 December 2006) was a Turkmenistani politician who led Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was the Secretary (title), first secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenist ...

. On 8 December 2002, he was arrested for having a connection with an assassination attempt on President Nyýazow. In January 2003, he was convicted of involvement in the assassination attempt and received a sentence of 25-year imprisonment. Opposition members of the assassination reported that Berdiýew was either seriously ill or dead. Nothing has been confirmed, and his death is now regarded as a rumour. In a publication by the

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

, Berdiýew is listed as an alleged victim of a human rights violation in Turkmenistan by being allegedly tortured while in custody. Following Nyýazow's death, his successor,

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957) is a Turkmen politician and former dentist who is currently the chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan. He previously served as the second president of Turkmenistan from ...

, was asked about the fates of Berdiýew and alleged co-conspirator Boris Şyhmyradow at a visit to

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in September 2007. Berdimuhamedow said that he thought they were still alive."Turkmenistan: Jailed opposition leaders Boris Shihmuradov and Batyr Berduyev are alive"
, ''Vremya Novostei'' (ferghana.ru), 26 September 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berdiyew, Batyr 1960 births Turkmenistan prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Turkmenistan People from Ashgabat Foreign ministers of Turkmenistan Government ministers of Turkmenistan Ambassadors of Turkmenistan to Austria Ambassadors of Turkmenistan to the Czech Republic Ambassadors of Turkmenistan to Slovakia Permanent representatives of Turkmenistan to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Turkmen State University alumni