Berdimuhamedow was born on 29 June 1957 in Babarap, in what is now Gökdepe District, Ahal Province, to Mälikguly Berdimuhamedowiç Berdimuhamedow (12 August 1932 – 18 April 2021) and Ogulabat Ataýewna Kürräýewa. He is the only son in a family of six children. Berdimuhamedow’s father worked as a senior Interior Ministry officer in a prison guard detachment. He retired as a colonel of police. His grandfather, Berdimuhamed Annayev, was a local teacher who served in the Red Army during World War II as part of the 748th Rifle Regiment of the 206th Rifle Division of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In September 1943, his unit was one of the first to cross the Dnieper River. He was later killed in the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake.