Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24
Trend:
December 24 is the birthday of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Aliyev was born in Baku on December 24, 1961. He entered the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1977 and graduated it in 1982. Upon his graduation, Ilham Aliyev continued his education as a postgraduate student at MGIMO and received a Ph.D. degree in history in 1985.
He taught at the Moscow State University of International Relations between 1985-1990. From 1991 to 1994 Ilham Aliyev was involved in the private business sector, heading a number of industrial-commercial enterprises.
He was vice president, and later the first vice president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) from 1994 to 2003. He was actively involved in the implementation of Heydar Aliyev's oil strategy.
Ilham Aliyev was twice elected to the Milli Majlis (parliament) ofAzerbaijan in 1995 and 2000, and resigned from his post in 2003 due to his appointment to the post of prime minister.
In addition to his existing responsibilities, Ilham Aliyev has been presiding over the National Olympic Committee since 1997. Ilham Aliyev was re-elected to this post in 2016.
He has been elected deputy chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party in 1999, first deputy chairman in 2001, and party chairman in 2005.
He headed the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) from 2001 to 2003.
Ilham Aliyev was elected deputy chairman of PACE and member of the PACE bureau in January 2003.
Ilham Aliyev was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan after his candidacy was approved by the country’s parliament August 4, 2003.
Ilham Aliyev was elected president of Azerbaijan on October 15, 2003, gaining over 76 percent of total votes. He assumed his post on October 31, 2003. He was re-elected as president for the second term, gaining 88 percent of votes in the elections, held on October 15, 2008. He assumed the duties of the presidency on October 24, 2008.
On October 9, 2013, Ilham Aliyev was elected for a third term by an overwhelming majority of voters (84.54 percent) for the next five years. He assumed the post on October 19, 2013.
The Azerbaijani people made their choice, voting for political stability, prosperity and sustainable social and economic development.
The unity of the Azerbaijani people and the country’s president was once again demonstrated in 2016. The valiant Azerbaijani army under the leadership of the Supreme Commander of the country’s Armed Forces, President Aliyev gave a rebuff to Armenian aggressors in April 2016.
By having liberated a large area occupied by Armenia and having added another glorious page in the country’s history, the Azerbaijani army has shown the world the power and aspiration of Azerbaijan for returning the occupied territories at any cost.
These events once and forever changed the recent situation and proved the unacceptability of the status quo in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
By having voted in a referendum on amendments to the country’s constitution in September 2016, the Azerbaijani people supported President Aliyev’s initiative, which has become a guarantee of the country’s political and economic stability.
The act of referendum signed by the Azerbaijani president envisaged the amendments to 29 items of the constitution. The referendum results reflected the Azerbaijani people’s will. The Azerbaijani people voted for each of 29 items, which became the beginning of a new stage of Azerbaijan’s development.
The staff of Trend Agency sincerely congratulates President Aliyev on his birthday.