
Ilham Aliyev
President of Azerbaijan
Education
- Honorary degrees - universities
Overview
Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth and current president of Azerbaijan since 2003.
The son and second child of former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev, Aliyev became the country's president on 31 October 2003, after a two-month term as prime minister of Azerbaijan, through a presidential election defined by irregularities shortly before his father's death. He was reelected for a second term in 2008 and was allowed to run in elections indefinitely in 2013, 2018 and 2024 due to the 2009 constitutional referendum, which removed term limits for presidents. Throughout his electoral campaign, Aliyev was a member of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, which he has headed since 2005.
Azerbaijan being oil-rich is viewed to have significantly strengthened the stability of Aliyev's regime and enriched ruling elites in Azerbaijan, making it possible for the country to host lavish international events, as well as engage in extensive lobbying efforts.
Aliyev's family have enriched themselves through their ties to state-run businesses. They own significant parts of several major Azerbaijani banks, construction firms and telecommunications firms, and partially own the country's oil and gas industries. Much of the wealth is hidden through an elaborate network of offshore companies. Aliyev was named Corruption's 'Person of the Year' by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in 2012. In 2017, it was revealed that Aliyev and his family were involved in the Azerbaijani laundromat, a complex money-laundering scheme to pay off prominent European politicians to deflect criticism of Aliyev and promote a positive image of his regime.
Many observers see Aliyev as a dictator. He leads an authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan; elections are not free and fair, political power is concentrated in the hands of Aliyev and his extended family, corruption is rampant, and human rights violations are severe (including torture, arbitrary arrests, as well as harassment of journalists and non-governmental organizations). The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continued during Aliyev's presidency and devolved into a full-scale war in 2020 in which Azerbaijan regained control over the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that were lost during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, as well as a part of Nagorno-Karabakh region itself. Then, in the fall of 2023, Azerbaijan initiated a military offensive in the disputed region which ended with the surrender of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh and mass displacement of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Aliyev and his government have faced accusations of ethnic cleansing and war crimes in the aftermath of this military operation
Early Life
Ilham Aliyev born 24 December 1961 is the son of Heydar Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003. His mother Zarifa Aliyeva was an Azerbaijani ophthalmologist. He also has an older sister, Sevil Aliyeva. In 1977, Ilham Aliyev entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-MSIIR) and in 1982, continued his education as a postgraduate. In 1985 he received a PhD degree in history. From 1985 to 1990 Aliyev lectured at MSIIR. From 1991 to 1994, he led a group of private industrial-commercial enterprises. In 1994–2003, he was vice-president, and later the first vice-president of SOCAR, the state-owned Azerbaijani oil and gas company. Since 1997, Aliyev has been the president of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan
Career
- President of Azerbaijan -
Recognition
National honours and medals
Source:
Azerbaijan – Heydar Aliyev Order
Azerbaijan – Order of Sheikhulislam
Foreign honours :
Romania – Order of the Star of Romania (2004)
Saudi Arabia – Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud (2005)
Georgia – Order of Honor of Georgia
Bulgaria - Order of Stara Planina
France – Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor
Poland – Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Ukraine – First Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (2008)
Kuwait – Order of Mubarak the Great
Greece – Gold Medal of the Hellenic Republic
Latvia – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Three Stars
Romania – Grand Cross of Faithful Service
Tajikistan – Order of Ismoili Somoni
Turkey – First Class of the Order of the State of Republic of Turkey (2013)
Ukraine – Order of Liberty (2013)
Serbia – Order of the Republic of Serbia (2013)
Italy – Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (12 July 2018)
Bulgaria – "Friendship" order of Bulgaria (2019)
Kazakhstan – Order of the Golden Eagle (22 August 2022)