Childhood and youth
Ilham Aliyev was born on December 24, 1961 in Baku, in the family of the head of the Counterintelligence Department of the KGB of the Azerbaijan SSR, Heydar Aliyev, who later became the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan SSR. Ilham Aliyev graduated from secondary school No. 6 in the Sabail district of Baku in 1977. After receiving secondary education, Ilham Aliyev entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). After graduating from the institute, in 1982 he entered graduate school at MGIMO. In the same year, at the invitation of Andropov, the Aliyev family moved to Moscow. When asked by journalist Mikhail Gusman about admission to MGIMO, Ilham Aliyev replied:
Having defended his dissertation for the degree of candidate of historical sciences, he remained teaching at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Business. Beginning of a political career
After Heydar Aliyev was dismissed from the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the USSR and, on this basis, removed from the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Ilham Aliyev was “offered” to leave MGIMO, where he taught, on the grounds that it was a “political university” and his father fell out of favor with the new Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev. Ilham Aliyev went into private business. In 1991, he headed the Orient company, and in 1992 he moved to Istanbul and returned only when Heydar Aliyev became president of the republic.
From 1994 to August 2003 - vice-president, then first vice-president of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). He took an active part in the implementation of “Heydar Aliyev’s oil strategy.” In 1995, Ilham Aliyev was elected, and in 2000, re-elected as a deputy of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan. In 1997, Ilham Aliyev became president of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. While leading the Olympic Committee, he managed to improve the sports infrastructure. On his initiative, sports schools began to be actively created, and national teams were formed in those sports that were traditionally strong in Azerbaijan. For his great contribution to the development of sports and the Olympic movement, he was awarded the highest order of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In 1999 he was elected deputy, in 2001 first deputy chairman, and in 2005 chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan party.
From 2001 to 2003 - head of the delegation of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Parliament) to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
In January 2003, Ilham Aliyev was elected Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and a member of the PACE Bureau. In April 2004, for his active participation in the work of PACE and commitment to European ideals, he was awarded a diploma of an honorary member of PACE and a PACE medal. In 2003, he resigned as a deputy in connection with his appointment to the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
In July 2003, Heydar Aliyev, who was undergoing treatment, and Ilham became candidates for the post of president of the country. In addition, on August 4, at the request of the President, the Milli Majlis appointed Ilham as Prime Minister of the country. Further developments depended on the health of Aliyev Sr., who was undergoing treatment in the USA. On October 2, Heydar Aliyev’s appeal to the people was read out on Azerbaijani state television, in which he stated that he was withdrawing his candidacy in favor of his son.
Presidency
On October 15, 2003, presidential elections were held in the country, which Ilham Aliyev won with 79.46% of the votes. The opposition did not recognize the outcome of the elections and the next day over 3 thousand supporters of one of the opposition presidential candidates from the Musavat party moved along the central streets of the capital to Azadlig Square. A regiment of internal troops arrived at the scene and clashed with them, resulting in casualties. During his inauguration speech, Ilham Aliyev stated:
At first, Ilham Aliyev was completely dependent on the old ruling elite, since all significant ministerial posts remained in the hands of those who came to power under Heydar Aliyev. In October 2005, it was announced that a coup attempt had been prevented, on charges of which 12 people were arrested, including Minister of Economic Development Farhad Aliyev, Minister of Finance Fikret Yusifov, Minister of Health of Azerbaijan Ali Insanov, President of the State Concern Azerkhimiya Fikret Sadigov and ex- President of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences Eldar Salayev. According to the International Crisis Group report for 2010, among the opposition
Having won the presidential elections on October 15, 2008 with more than 88% of the votes, Ilham Aliyev was elected to the post of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the second time. Took office on October 24, 2008. The following year, a referendum was held in Azerbaijan in favor of the adoption of amendments to the constitution, as a result of which the limit of two presidential terms was lifted, giving Ilham Aliyev the right to be elected an infinite number of times.
In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2011 World Democracy Index, Azerbaijan was ranked 140th as an authoritarian country.
In January 2012, the influential British newspaper The Times included Ilham Aliyev in the list of 100 people who will be the most visible and influential in 2012. "Azerbaijan's president claims his country is the 'fastest growing country in the world' and the UK is starting to feel it, with shopping centers and five-star hotels springing up in Baku to lure us into a future 'Dubai on the Caspian'." An Azerbaijani restaurant has just opened in Knightsbridge , and Cond? Nast began publishing the international version of the magazine (Baku),” writes the British newspaper
Having become president, Ilham Aliyev actively took up the development of domestic production and the oil sector. At the forefront of internal development was the task of further liberalizing the economy and stimulating domestic investment. As part of the new economic strategy, the State Program for the Social and Economic Development of Regions (2004-2008), the following tasks were set: the creation of half a million jobs, an increase in the total share of GDP in the non-resource sector, the development of private business, the implementation of special programs of financial assistance to private regional enterprises, infrastructural development of the country, in particular the construction and reconstruction of roads, medical, educational and sports facilities. In his economic strategy, Ilham Aliyev achieved that at the end of 2007, Azerbaijan's GDP per capita reached $3 thousand; from 2003 to 2006 The poverty level in the country decreased by 29%, and the average monthly salary in 2007 was projected at $214.6. By 2007, Azerbaijan's GDP growth had become the highest in the CIS countries, and in the first four years of Ilham Aliyev's rule, the economy grew by 96%.
Under Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the first time.
Personal life
In 1983, Ilham Aliyev married Mehriban Pashayeva. Three children were born from the marriage: daughters Leila and Arzu and son Heydar. On December 1, 2008, he became a grandfather; the president's daughter Leyla Aliyeva became the mother of two boys. In an interview with Baku magazine, when asked about his family and wife, Aliyev said:
Awards and titles
- Order of Heydar Aliyev
- Order of the Star of Romania
- Order of King Abdulaziz (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
- Order of Honor (Georgia, 2003)
- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (France)
- Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st degree (2008, Ukraine) - for outstanding personal contribution to strengthening Ukrainian-Azerbaijani relations
- Order of Sheikh-ul-Islam (Azerbaijan)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (Poland)
- Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 1st degree (ROC)
- Order of Glory "Great Cordon" (International Military Sports Council)
- Order of Glory of the International Confederation of Sports Organizations of the CIS Countries
- The highest order of the FILA Hall of Honor “Legend of Sports”;
- Order of the Holy Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, 1st degree
- Order of Mubarak al-Kabir (2009, UAE)
- Order of Glory and Honor, 1st degree (ROC) (2010)
- Grand Cross of the National Order for Faithful Service (2011, Romania)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Three Stars (Latvia)
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (2011, Belarus)
- Jubilee medal “10 years of Astana”
- Gold Medal of the Greek Parliament
- The highest award of the Republic of Bulgaria is the Order of Stara Planina.
- Ihsan Dogramaci Prize for Peace and International Relations (Türkiye)
- Grand Prix winner of the Person of the Year 2009 award (Russia)
- Winner of the "Friend of Journalists" award
- “Person of the Year 2010” according to the magazine “Balcanii ?i Europa” (Romania)
- Honorary Professor of the Turkmen State University named after Magtymguly (Turkmenistan).
- Honorary Professor of the Belarusian State University
- Honorary Professor of Moscow State University. Lomonosov (2008)
- Honorary Professor of the Eurasian National University named after L. N. Gumilyov (Kazakhstan)
- Honorary Professor of the University of National and World Economy (Bulgaria)
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of Lincoln (USA)
- Honorary Doctor of Moscow State University of International Relations
- Honorary Doctor of Bilkent University (Türkiye)
- Honorary Doctor of the National Tax Academy (Ukraine)
- Honorary Doctor of Plast University of Oil and Gas (Romania)
- Honorary Doctor of MGIMO (2004)
- Honorary Doctor of Kyung Hee University (South Korea)
- Honorary Doctor of the University of Jordan (Jordan)
- Honorary Doctor of Social Sciences from Corvinus University (Hungary)
- Honorary Doctor of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine)
- Honorary citizen of Astrakhan (2011)
Criticism
He is accused of corruption and suppression of freedom of expression. Human rights are also not respected.
- Ilham Aliyev speaks Azerbaijani, Russian, English, French and Turkish.
- In 2009, Ilham Aliyev was included in the book “500 Most Influential Muslims in the World.”
- While in Ulyanovsk in 2010, I visited the V. I. Lenin House Museum, where I left an entry in the guest book, in which I wrote: “I got acquainted with the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin House Museum with great interest. The museum exposition clearly demonstrates the life of the Ulyanov family. All family members had extraordinary qualities and showed their talent in different areas. Vladimir Ilyich left a huge mark on the history of mankind. His memory lives in the hearts of millions of people on the planet.”
- Aliyev is the author of a number of research works on the geopolitical aspects of the oil policy of sovereign Azerbaijan.
The flexible and intelligent politician managed to ensure the country’s stable entry into the top three world leaders in terms of GDP growth, its election to the UN Security Council with the support of 155 states, and also refuted the idea that the position was “inherited”, allegedly not having real political talent.
Childhood and adolescence
The future head of state was born on December 24, 1961 in Baku. His father, Heydar Alievich, at that time the head of the republican counterintelligence of the KGB, and his mother, Zarifa Aziz kyzy, an ophthalmologist, were then 38 years old. He became the second, relatively late child in a family where the 6-year-old daughter Seville was already growing up. 
He studied at school No. 6, showing little zeal in studying the exact sciences and giving preference to the humanities. According to the recollections of teachers, despite the high position of his father, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Republic, he was no different from his peers. He often fought, but never complained about his offenders at home.
In early childhood, the boy dreamed of becoming a general; as a teenager he was fond of sports - he played volleyball, football, swam, and also loved to dress well and tell jokes, especially about Brezhnev. In 1974 he won the international swimming tournament held in the GDR.
After graduating from school in 1977, the young man did not hide behind his father’s authority and pursue a career in the KGB or along the party line, but managed to enter the most famous and prestigious institute in the country - MGIMO. And he not only successfully graduated from it in 1982, but remained in graduate school and then taught there for several years.
Career development
With the change in the political situation in the USSR, his father was forced to resign in 1987. My son had to leave teaching at his alma mater. He went into commerce and in 1991 became director of the Orient company. A year later, he moved to Istanbul, since his main business was connected with this city and state. 
In general, little is known about the life of the future president in the first half of the 90s. In 1993, Heydar Alievich came to power again, and his heir returned from abroad.
Since 1995, at the suggestion of the “yellow press,” the young businessman gained a reputation as a gambler who allegedly lost huge sums of money in casinos. There was a scandal with Turkish businessman Omar Topala: supposedly Aliyev Jr. lost so much in his casino that his father had to give the building of the Baku Hotel Europe to the Turk.
From 1994 to 2003, Ilham Aliyev was the deputy head of the State Oil Company SOCAR, and was involved in the implementation of advanced projects in the field of development of deposits of this natural resource. The most ambitious of them was the agreement with Western partners, which later received the name “Contract of the Century”. Its signing ensured a significant influx of investment into the oil industry of the republic and played an invaluable role in improving the country's economy as a whole.
In 1995 and 2000, he was elected to parliament - the Milli Majlis, where he initiated the development of traditional sports for the country and the construction of sports facilities. In 1997, he headed the National Olympic Committee, and his work in this direction was awarded the IOC Order.
In 1999, he was elected deputy leader of the pro-presidential political force “New Azerbaijan”. In 2001-2003, he led the parliamentary delegation to one of the main bodies of the Council of Europe - PACE. Subsequently, Aliyev was elected deputy chairman of PACE.
In 2003, he became prime minister and, along with his father, nominated himself for the presidency, having previously taken leave from his new position. Then Heydar Alievich, who was undergoing treatment at that time, refused to participate in the elections in favor of his son.
Presidency of Ilham Aliyev
In the elections held in the fall of 2003 and accompanied by protests that resulted in loss of life, the politician won. In 2 years, he managed to organize the replacement of the old “ruling clan” and achieve political stability. 
In 2005, information appeared about an attempt to change power in the country by force. The coup was prevented; twelve high-ranking officials and politicians, including the leader of the Democratic Party Rasul Guliyev, the head of the Ministry of Economy Farhad Aliyev and his brother Rafik, the head of the large enterprise Azpetrol, were arrested.
In 2008, the successor to his father's political line again won the elections. According to international statistics, per capita income in Azerbaijan then reached more than 3.8 thousand dollars.
Interview with Ilham Aliyev
In 2009, a referendum was organized, as a result of which an amendment was made to the legislation of the republic - from now on one person could occupy the presidency for more than 2 terms. The opposition called this event the transformation of a republic into a monarchy.
According to official data for 2010, more than 800 thousand new jobs appeared in Azerbaijan, and the poverty level of the population decreased by 34 percent. However, this happened mainly due to social benefits. Economic growth occurred due to increased sales of energy resources.
In the 2013 elections, the current head of the republic again received the support of the majority of voters and was re-elected for a third term.
On the world stage, the country's leader demonstrated a thoughtful and calibrated policy. In 2005, he signed a non-aggression agreement with Iran. In 2010 - on the state border with the Russian Federation (with agreements beneficial for Baku). In 2016, an attempt was made to change the situation regarding Karabakh.
Personal life of Ilham Aliyev
In 1983, the politician’s wife was Mehriban Pashayeva, a representative of one of the most influential families in Azerbaijan, the granddaughter of the scientist and writer Mir Jalal Pashayev, the daughter of the head of the National Aviation Academy, Arifa Muallim, and the head of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Aida Imanguliyeva. 
The young people met during their student years in Moscow, where she studied at the Medical Institute. I. Sechenov. In 1985, their daughter Leila was born, in 1989 their youngest daughter Arzu, and in 1997 their son Heydar, named, of course, in honor of his grandfather.
From 2006 to 2015, the eldest daughter was married to an entrepreneur and singer. Ilham Aliyev’s son is predicted to have a presidential future.
In addition to his native language, Ilham Heydarovich speaks English, Russian, French and Turkish.
Ilham Aliyev now
In 2017, Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife Mehriban as First Vice-President of the country, calling her “a professional and a humanist” at a presentation at the Security Council. According to Baku, ordinary people respect and love her very much.On the eve of the EU Eastern Partnership summit, which was scheduled for November 24, Azerbaijan did not sign its final declaration due to disagreement with the wording regarding the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. At a ceremonial meeting dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the New Azerbaijan Party, Aliyev said that the country would restore its territorial integrity at any cost.
Ilham Aliyev about Karabakh
The next presidential elections in Azerbaijan will take place in 2018. According to the results of the referendum held in 2016, the term of the next president will no longer be 5, but 7 years. The country also lowered the age limit for presidential candidates from 35 to 18 years. According to opposition representatives, in this way Aliyev’s 28-year-old son will be able to take the presidency in 2025, after the expiration of Ilham Aliyev’s fourth term.
We can say that this man has been moving towards his presidency since his youth, and he inherited the most important post in the country from his father. And no matter how much criticism may be poured into his address, one thing remains obvious: Ilham Aliyev - the son of Heydar Aliyev - did a lot of good for his country as president of Azerbaijan. This is recognized not only by Azerbaijanis, but also by foreign politicians.
Childhood and early adolescence
Aliyev Ilham Heydarovich was born in the capital of the Azerbaijan SSR on December 24, 1961. His father at that time was already a fairly large official - he served as deputy head of the city department of the KGB. And soon he became the boss. After some time, Heydar Aliyev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Republic.
In 1967, the son of the main figure of Azerbaijan became a student at Baku Secondary School No. 6, from which he graduated in 1977. No one in the family had any particular doubts about the further development of events. Moscow and, of course, one of its most prestigious institutions awaited Ilham.
In the very first summer after graduation, Ilham Aliyev, whose biography began so successfully, became a student at MGIMO. At the time of admission, he was only 15 years old, and the admissions committee gave the go-ahead only after receiving a certificate stating that Aliyev would turn 16 in a few months.
According to the future president, studying in the capital was not easy. But he made every effort and did not disgrace his father. In 1982, the young man’s parents moved to Moscow, and at the same time, after graduating from the Institute of International Relations, he entered graduate school there. In 1985, Ilham Aliyev defended his doctoral dissertation, which gave him a candidate's degree in historical sciences.
Start of work
Domestic policy
During his debut inaugural speech, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev promised bright prospects for the country. And he didn’t lie.
Literally from the very first steps in power, the head of state placed the main emphasis on the development of the oil industry. Internal investment was also stimulated, jobs were created and private business was encouraged, and socio-economic policies were pursued in the regions. And all this very quickly gave good results.
By 2007, the republic's gross domestic product reached three thousand dollars per capita, and Azerbaijan was recognized as one of the fastest growing countries in the world.
The level of medical care in the state was rapidly increasing, housing was being built, and roads were being repaired. And people were imbued with more and more confidence in their president.
Relations with Russia
As soon as Aliyev Jr. took the main post of the country, he went to Moscow, where he concluded with the President of Russia (Vladimir Putin) After this, trade and economic relations between the countries significantly revived, which benefited both sides. In addition, Azerbaijan supported the Russian Federation in the fight against Chechen terrorists.
Relations with Armenia
The most problematic point of Baku's foreign policy has become relations with Armenia. Ilham Aliyev made attempts to restore order in this area, for which he held a number of meetings and negotiations. But none of them brought success.
In April 2005, the President of Azerbaijan stated that Baku does not rule out a military confrontation with its neighbor and is ready for it. And after yet another unsuccessful negotiation in May of the same year, the leader of the republic prioritized the construction of an oil pipeline along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route. It ran through the territory of Karabakh and could have made Yerevan more accommodating.
As a result, this project brought even more benefits than expected. Its launch put an end to Moscow's oil hegemony, and Azerbaijan began to rapidly grow richer.
Relations with the USA
Aliyev Jr. also inherited a difficult legacy in the sector of Baku-Tehran-Washington relations.
The United States was increasing the confrontation with Iran, which, contrary to the wishes of the world community, was developing nuclear potential, and considered Azerbaijan as a platform for attacking this country. And Tehran, in turn, promised to bomb the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline if this option becomes a reality.
Going to negotiations in Washington in 2006, the President of Azerbaijan stated that the territory of his state would never become a springboard for military operations.
Relations with Europe
But Azerbaijan’s relations with Europe from the very beginning of Aliyev’s presidency have been much kinder.
The mutual understanding was based on the energy issue, which became especially acute during the conflict between Gazprom and the Ukrainian authorities, which resulted in a sharp decrease in supplies of blue fuel to the territory of the European Union.
In addition, Europeans have repeatedly expressed admiration for the relatively rapid pace of development of Azerbaijan and provided it with support.
Aliyev and the opposition
Not a single government, even the most durable and authoritative, can do without opposition. Ilham Aliyev encountered protest sentiments in society in the very first “minutes” of his presidency. The very next day after the 2003 elections, people came out to the capital square and did not recognize the outcome of the vote. The protests were brutally suppressed by the authorities - not even without casualties.
The next “attack” of the Azerbaijani opposition happened 2 years later. And he was also mercilessly “cut off”. To do this, troops had to be sent to Baku. Thousands of people were arrested. The situation in the country was truly explosive, but Aliyev was supported by then US President George Bush. And gradually the situation leveled out.
Personal life of the President of Azerbaijan
The President's marriage is an example of strong and harmonious marital relations. Ilham Aliyev's wife, Mehriban, has supported her husband in everything since 1983, when their wedding took place. Being a national standard of beauty, a very smart, active and educated woman, she tries not to “exhibit” her assets and in public keeps herself in the shadow of her husband.
For more than thirty years together, the couple managed to “make” three children. And in 2008, the eldest daughter of Ilham Aliyev and his wife, Leyla, gave her parents two grandchildren at once - she gave birth to twin boys. The couple’s youngest daughter, Arzu, is also already married.
But as for the president’s third child, Azerbaijanis are seriously wondering whether Ilham Aliyev’s son will become his heir as head of state, as he himself once became. Wait and see. It's too early to talk about this yet. The father is full of strength, and Heydar, named after his grandfather, is still too young - he was born in 1997.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife Mehriban as first vice president for her “multifaceted and successful activities.” The opposition criticizes the president for establishing a feudal model of power
Mehriban Aliyeva and Ilham Aliyev (Photo: Philippe Wojazer/Reuters)
On February 21, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife Mehriban Aliyeva as the first vice-president of the country. Introducing the first lady in her new capacity at a meeting of the country’s Security Council, the president said that Aliyeva “has been playing an important role in the socio-political and cultural life of the country for many years”, has done a great job as a deputy since 2005, has successfully led the Organizing Committee of the first European Games, which took place in Baku in 2015, she was involved in charity work. “This multifaceted and successful activity played a major role in my making this decision,” the president said (quoted by TASS).
In her new post, Aliyeva promised to be guided by the principles of philanthropy, mercy and to put the interests of Azerbaijan above all else.
The post of first vice president was recently created in Azerbaijan after amendments were made to the Constitution in a referendum last September. The institution of vice-presidency is a strengthening of the “executive will” of the state, Rovshan Rzayev explained the need to introduce a new post of deputy chairman of the parliamentary legal policy committee. In accordance with the Constitution, the first vice president assumes the powers of the president if he is unable to fulfill his duties. The new Constitution also provides for the post of a simple vice president. However, no appointment to this post has been announced yet.
Chairman of the opposition Musavat party Arif Hajili told RBC that the appointment of the president’s wife confirms the “long-established fact” of the creation of a “family government” in the country. This decision of the president “is pulling Azerbaijan into the Middle Ages, towards feudalism, and can lead both the ruling bodies and society as a whole to aggravation of relations,” former presidential candidate from the Musavat party Isa Gambar believes in a conversation with RBC (in 1992, the politician briefly served duties of the President).
There was not a single decision of the head of state that the opposition did not criticize, points out Azerbaijani political scientist Tofik Abbasov. A key role in choosing the first vice-president was played by Aliyeva’s successful work as a deputy, activity in the social bloc, and high rating among voters, he is sure. Abbasov notes that Mehriban Aliyeva is a creative person, and the president had complaints about the work of the government. Aliyeva will be able to intensify the search for new development models and programs for the country, the expert is sure.
Aliyev Dynasty
Ilham Aliyev has led Azerbaijan since 2003. Before that, for ten years (until his death), his father, Heydar Aliyev, was at the head of the country. In 2009, a referendum abolished restrictions on the number of terms the same person could serve as president. Thanks to changes to the Constitution approved last fall, the presidential term was increased from five to seven years. Age restrictions for presidential candidates were also lifted. The only son of Ilham and Mehriban Aliyev, Heydar, was born in 1997. By the 2025 elections, he will have reached his 28th birthday and, taking into account changes in the nomination rules, will be able to run for the presidency, pointed out Sergei Markedonov, an associate professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities.
There has long been talk in the Azerbaijani establishment that power needs to be kept in the family and that if not an heir, then some additional figure in support of the president is needed, therefore the appointment of a wife to the post of vice president is normal and expected, says Carnegie Center expert Alexey Malashenko. The main thing in this decision is that power remains in one family, in one dynasty, Malashenko is sure.
Mehriban Aliyeva already had an extremely high status in the hierarchy of power; her appointment only formalized it. In the event of force majeure or an aggravation of the internal political situation, it is better that power remains with the one who is trusted by the elite, says Nikolai Silaev, a senior researcher at the Center for Caucasus Problems and Regional Security at MGIMO.
The path of Mehriban Aliyeva
In 1988 she graduated with honors from the 1st Moscow State Medical Institute. THEM. Sechenov. In 2005 she defended her dissertation on the topic “Euthanasia and the problem of humanity in medicine.”
Since 1983, married to Ilham Aliyev. They have three children: two daughters, Leyla and Arzu, and a son, Heydar.
In 2004, she became president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, established in honor of the president who died in 2003.
Mehriban Aliyeva is a member of the executive committee of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Aliyeva is her husband's deputy as chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan party.
Since 2005 - Member of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan.
In 2011 she was awarded the French Order of the Legion of Honor, in 2015 - the Order of Heydar Aliyev.
1. Ilham Heydar ogly Aliyev(Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev) was born in Baku into the family of the future President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, who at that time served as head of the Counterintelligence Department of the KGB of the Azerbaijan SSR.
2. Ilham Aliyev is a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). Having defended his dissertation for the degree of candidate of historical sciences, he remained to work at MGIMO as a teacher.
3. In 1997, Ilham Aliyev became president of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. On his initiative, sports schools were actively built, national teams were formed in those sports that were traditionally strong in Azerbaijan. For his great contribution to the development of sports and the Olympic movement, he was awarded the highest order of the International Olympic Committee.
4. Ilham Aliyev became president of Azerbaijan in 2003, succeeding his father, Heydar Aliyev. Aliyev Jr. won the presidential elections three times - in 2003, 2008 and 2013.
Ilham Aliyev near the portrait of his father, former President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko
5. Ilham Aliyev has been awarded state awards from a number of states, international organizations and associations. Among Aliyev’s unusual awards are the Honorary Gold Badge of the General Confederation of Trade Unions “For Merit to the Trade Union Movement” and the Order of Merit to the Party from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
6. Ilham Aliyev speaks Azerbaijani, Russian, English, French and Turkish.
Ilham Aliyev with his wife Mehriban and Dmitry Medvedev. 2008 Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Rodionov
7. In 2010, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev visited the V.I. Lenin House-Museum in Ulyanovsk, where he left a note in the guest book: “I got acquainted with the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin House-Museum with great interest. The museum exposition clearly demonstrates the life of the Ulyanov family. All family members had extraordinary qualities and showed their talent in different areas. Vladimir Ilyich left a huge mark on the history of mankind. His memory lives in the hearts of millions of people on the planet.”
8. In 2011, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Ilham Aliyev, a cake 50 meters long was made in the city of Sumgait. The initiator of baking the cake was Head of Sumgait Eldar Azizov. This was already the second cake baked on Azizov’s instructions for the president’s birthday. The first was created on Aliyev’s 49th birthday in Ganja, which Azizov led before Sumgait. The tradition continued - in 2012, a 51-meter cake was baked for the president’s birthday. The sweetness weighing 11 tons took 22,000 eggs, about 2 tons of flour, 1.5 tons of granulated sugar, 310 kg of peeled nuts.
