Turkmenistan's Deputy Prime Minister Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has been named interim president after the death of Saparmurat Niyazov early Thursday, the country's national security council announced.

Berdymukhamedov, also Turkmenistan's minister of health and medical industry, will fill in as acting president and take charge of arrangements for the late president's funeral, which is scheduled for Sunday, reports from the Central Asian nation's capital Ashgabat said.

Niyazov, 66, died of a sudden heart failure at 01:10 a.m. local time, Turkmenistan's state television reported.

The TV report hailed Niyazov, the country's first president, as the founder of an independent and sovereign Turkmenistan.

State television said that during his rule Niyazov showed outstanding leadership and genius on diplomacy and granted equal treatment to all ethnic groups in Turkmenistan, which contributed to the country's unity.

Under Turkmenistan's constitution, Parliament Speaker Ovezgeldy Atayev should take up the interim presidency, but he was not appointed because of his involvement in a criminal case, according to Interfax.

Elections for a new president will take place in about two months, according to the constitution.

State television also said all of the national principles and political lines drawn up by Niyazov will be preserved and steadfastly followed.

Source: Xinhua