The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (DPT) is the dominant political party in Turkmenistan. The DPT was led by former Soviet provincial Party leader Saparmurat Niyazov from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s until his death in 2006. In 2013 President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow suspended his party membership for the duration of his presidency. The current leader is Kasymguly Babaev.