Ilham Aliyev
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| Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev |
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| Assumed office October 31, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Heydar Aliyev |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | December 24, 1961 Baku, Azerbaijan SSR Soviet Union |
| Political party | New Azerbaijan Party |
| Spouse | Mehriban Aliyeva |
| Religion | Shi'a Islam |
Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev) (born December 24, 1961) is the current President of Azerbaijan. He also functions as the head of the New Azerbaijan Party.
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[edit] Biography
Aliyev was born in Baku as the son of Heydar Aliyev, who was made head of the Azerbaijani KGB when İlham was six and later became party leader for Azerbaijan and full member of Politburo, and Dr. Zarifa Aliyeva, a medical doctor. After completing school in Baku, İlham attended Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO), receiving a PhD in history, before starting to teach at MGIMO. He is married to Mehriban Aliyeva and has three children: Leyla, Arzu and Heydar. He also has an older sister, Sevil Aliyeva.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, İlham worked as a businessman in Moscow and Istanbul from 1991 to 1994. Around that time, media reports spread of his lifestyle allegedly involving gambling and women, and heavy debts to a Turkish casino owner. His father, Heydar Aliyev was reportedly unhappy at his son's image as a playboy and the harm he felt this would do to his son's prospects of succeeding him. Heydar Aliyev ordered the closure of all casinos in Azerbaijan in 1998[1].
In May 1994, İlham Aliyev was appointed vice-president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). The following year İlham was elected to parliament (Milli Majlis) and later became president of the National Olympic Committee (still incumbent) and head of the Azerbaijan delegation to the Council of Europe. In August 2003, two months prior to the presidential elections, he was appointed prime minister. In October, Heydar Aliyev, suffering failing health, stepped down as president and in a controversial move, appointed his son, an independent candidate, as his party's sole presidential candidate.
[edit] 2003 presidential elections
The official results of the October 15, 2003 elections gave victory to İlham Aliyev, who earned 76.84% of the votes. However, the domestic opposition refused to accept the results and staged mass protests. Hundreds of demonstrators were beaten, and later arrested. Aliyev took office on October 31, despite opposition complaints.
The elections received harsh criticism from the international community, with many observers noting that they fell short of international standards and were accompanied by voter intimidation, unequal campaign opportunities for the candidates, and widespread violations of the electoral laws and process. The OSCE International Election Observation Mission noted a number of irregularities in the counting and tabulation (source: HTML format or PDF format). Human Rights Watch complained that Aliyev's election campaign had been supported by government resources and that the Central Election Commission and local election commissions had been stacked with its supporters, while local non-governmental organizations had been banned from monitoring the vote (source: HTML format) Numerous journalists, among them Eynulla Fatullayev, have been persecuted for their criticism of Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani government.[1]
[edit] Presidency
Opposition members and human rights activists complain that during Aliyev's presidency the human rights situation has not improved. Opposition mass meetings remained banned and the government has continued to pressure the opposition and independent press. In March 2005 under continued pressure from the international community, especially the Council of Europe, Aliyev released from prison many prominent members of the opposition, arrested during protests against the way the October 2003 election was conducted.
On March 26, 2005 Aliyev was officially elected as the ruling New Azerbaijan Party chairman. The opposition denounced this as a violation of state laws, because according to the law on political parties, the president should have no party affiliation.
[edit] Trivia
- In the 2006 film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Aliyev's photo is shown during the credits. In the film, he is supposedly the president of Kazakhstan who in reality is President Nursultan Nazarbayev. This was probably due to the fact that Ilham Aliyev looks more like Borat than Nursultan Nazarbayev.
[edit] See also
- President of Azerbaijan
- Politics of Azerbaijan
- National Assembly of Azerbaijan
- Foreign relations of Azerbaijan
- List of political parties in Azerbaijan
[edit] References
- Forrest, Brett (Nov. 28, 2005). "Over A Barrel in Baku". Fortune, pp. 54–60.
[edit] External links
- Official Azerbaijan president website
- Aliyev's official website
- BBC profile: İlham Aliyev
- BBC Country Profile: Azerbaijan with succinct information on İlham Aliyev
[edit] Contact
İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev
President
Office of the President
19 Istiglaliet Street
Baku 370066
AZERBAIJAN
| Preceded by Artur Rasizade |
Prime Minister of Azerbaijan 2003 |
Succeeded by Artur Rasizade |
| Preceded by Heydar Aliyev |
President of Azerbaijan 2003– |
Succeeded by Current Incumbent |
| Leaders of Azerbaijan |  |
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| Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918—1920): Mammed Amin Rasulzade • Alimardan Topchubashev
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1920—1991), First Secretaries: Mirza Davud Huseynov • Grigory Kaminsky • Sergey Kirov • Levon Mirzoyan • Nikolay Gikalo • Vladimir Polonsky • Mir-Jafar Bagirov • Mir-Teymur Yagubov • Imam Mustafayev • Vali Akhundov • Heydar Aliyev • Kamran Bagirov • Abdulrahman Vazirov • Ayaz Mutallibov Republic of Azerbaijan (1991—): Ayaz Mutallibov • Yagub Mammadov* • Ayaz Mutallibov • Isa Gambar* • Abülfaz Elçibay • Heydar Aliyev • Ilham Aliyev |
| Prime Ministers of Azerbaijan | |
|---|---|
| Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918—1920): Fatali Khan Khoyski • Nasib Usubbeyov
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1920—1991), Chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars (from 1946, Chairmen of the Council of Ministers): Mirza Davud Huseynov • Nariman Narimanov • Gazanfar Musabekov • Dadash Buniyatzade • Mir-Jafar Bagirov • Huseyn Rahmanov • Teymur Guliyev • Mir-Jafar Bagirov • Teymur Kuliyev • Sadykh Rahimov • Vali Akhundov • Mammad Isgandarov • Anvar Alikhanov • Ali Ibrahimov • Hasan Seyidov • Ayaz Mutallibov • Hasan Hasanov Republic of Azerbaijan (1991—): Hasan Hasanov • Firuz Mustafayev* • Rahim Huseynov • Ali Masimov • Panah Huseynov • Surat Huseynov • Fuad Guliyev • Artur Rasizade • Ilham Aliyev • Artur Rasizade |
