Dangatar Köpekow

Dangatar Kopekov
Minister of Defense of Turkmenistan
In office January 7, 1992 – September 17, 1998
President	Saparmurat Niyazov
Preceded by	Position Established
Chairman of the Turkmen KGB
In office March 25, 1991 – September 1991
Personal details
Born	May 12, 1933 Ashgabat, Turkmen SSR, Soviet Union
Died	September 21, 2011 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Political party	CPSU Communist Party of Turkmenistan
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union Turkmenistan
Years of service	1959-1997
Rank	General of the Army

Dangatar Abdyevich Kopekov (Turkmen: Dangatar Abdyeviç Köpekow; Russian: Данатар Абдыевич Копеков) was a Turkmen general and the former Minister of Defense of Turkmenistan and the last Chairman of the Turkmen KGB.

Early life and Carrer

Kopekov was born in Ashgabat In 1933. He worked as a junior operative and operative with the First Department of the KGB at the Council of Ministers of the Turkmen SSR. Then he was transferred to the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR (external intelligence). In 1968, he was sent to Iran to work as an assistant to the KGB resident in Mashhad. In 1971 he was deported to the USSR. In March 1991, he was appointed the Chairman of the KGB of the Turkmen SSR. In January 1992, he was appointed the first Minister of Defense of independent Turkmenistan. He had a great influence on the President of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov. He has lived in retirement in Ashgabat since 1999. He died on September 21, 2011 in a military hospital.

Ranks

• Major (1971)
• Lieutenant-Colonel (1974)
• Colonel
• Major-General (1990)
• Lieutenant-General (1992)
• Colonel-General (1993)
• General of the Army

See also

• Government of Turkmenistan
• Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan