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Ilham Aliyev

Fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003; son of Heydar Aliyev.

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Ilham Aliyev is the president of Azerbaijan who succeeded his father Heydar Aliyev in 2003.[1][2] Under his presidency, Azerbaijan hosted the 2015 European Games and the 42nd Chess Olympiad.[3]

Life and work

Ilham Aliyev was born on 24 December 1961 in Baku and studied at Moscow State University of International Relations from 1977 to 1982.[4] He received a PhD in history in 1985 and lectured at the same university until 1990.[4] From 1991 to 1994 he headed private industrial-commercial enterprises, then served as vice-president and first vice-president of SOCAR until 2003.[4] He was elected deputy chair of the New Azerbaijan Party in 1999 and became its chairman in 2005.[5][4]

On 4 August 2003 he was appointed prime minister with 101 deputies voting in favor, while opposition parties boycotted the vote.[6][7] He won the October 2003 presidential election with 76.84% of the vote, though Human Rights Watch documented widespread fraud and abuse.[8] Aliyev was re-elected in 2008 with 87% of the vote and in 2013 with 85% of the vote, the latter after election results were accidentally released before polls opened.[9][10] In 2018 he won a fourth term with 86.02% of the vote, with major opposition parties not participating.[11]

During his presidency, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict escalated into war in 2020 and a 2023 offensive expelled all Armenians from the region.[12][13] A March 2009 referendum eliminated constitutional restrictions on presidential terms, enabling Aliyev to stand for election without any limit on consecutive terms.[14]

What the cited sources add

Voice of America reported that opposition parties feared the start of an "Aliyev dynasty" when he was appointed prime minister.[15] Al Jazeera reported that the speaker of parliament called Ilham's appointment a formal stepping stone to succeeding his father as president.[7] The OCCRP designated Aliyev as its 2012 Person of the Year because he was a central figure in that year's reports about criminal activity and corruption.[16] According to OCCRP, the Aliyev family secretly holds ownership interests in the nation's biggest enterprises, such as financial institutions, building firms, and precious metal extraction operations.[16]

The official presidential biography reports that Aliyev speaks Azerbaijani, Russian, English, French, and Turkish.[4]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003", Human Rights Watch, 13 October 2003 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003", Human Rights Watch, 13 October 2003; "Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev", Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic; "Azerbaijan Report", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 6 August 2003 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic - PRESIDENT» Biography", en.president.az; "Baku 2015 European Games", Baku 2015; "Baku 2017", Baku 2017; "Baku Chess Olympiad", Baku Chess Olympiad; "Azerbaijan set to welcome Formula 1 in 2015; Korea scrapped", MotorSportsTalk, 8 May 2014; "Opening ceremony and final race of the Grand Prix", en.president.az; "Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic - NEWS – Events", en.president.az; "F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix ended in Baku", Azerbaijan State News Agency (original not read en.wikipedia.org
  4. "PRESIDENT » Biography", Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic. facts only, no text reused. en.president.az
  5. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Chairman" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Azeri leader's son becomes PM", Al Jazeera, 4 August 2003; Krushelnycky, "Azerbaijan: Ilham Aliev's Confirmation As Premier Will Keep Presidency In The Family", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 4 August 2003; Murphy, "Azerbaijan Leader's Son Voted Premier", Los Angeles Times, 5 August 2003 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Azeri leader's son becomes PM", Al Jazeera, 4 August 2003. facts only, no text reused. aljazeera.com
  8. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Republic of Azerbaijan Presidential Election", OSCE; Radnitz, "Oil in the family: managing presidential succession in Azerbaijan", Democratization, 2012, p. 60–77; "Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003 – Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper", Human Rights Watch, 13 October 2003; "The Azerbaijan 'Elections' – October 15, 2003", Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe, 21 October 2020; "Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003", Human Rights Watch, 13 October 2003; "Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003 – Human Rights Watch Briefing Pape en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Azerbaijan's Presidential Election Campaign Kicks Off - Eurasia Daily Monitor", 27 September 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mehdiyeva, "Aliyev wins third term as president of Azerbaijan", Reuters, 9 October 2013; Clinch, "Azerbaijan releases election results...before election", CNBC, 10 October 2013; "PACE: News", PACE; Cheeseman, "How to Rig an Election", Yale University Press, 2018, p. 1; Fisher, "Oops: Azerbaijan released election results before voting had even started", The Washington Post, 9 October 2013 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Protocol on the voting results by central election commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 11 April 2018. Accessed on 2 May 2018.; Bagirova, "Azerbaijan's Aliyev wins fourth term as president", Reuters, 11 April 2018; "Azerbaijan's President Secures Fourth Term In Vote Criticized As Uncompetitive", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 12 April 2018; Azeri president's supporters heckle as observers declare election unfair Reuters, 12 April 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Azerbaijan Threatens Military Action Against Armenia Over Border 'Provocations'", RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia sign Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal", BBC, 10 November 2020; "Armenia and Azerbaijan move closer to peace, pushing Russia out from the South Caucasus", Euronews, 10 July 2025 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Ilham Aliyev" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Azerbaijan: Vulnerable Stability // International Crisis Group, September 2010; Hasanli, "Azerbaijan must use this election to end the Aliyev dynasty", The Guardian, 8 October 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  15. "Azerbaijan President's Son Appointed Country's New PM", Voice of America, 4 August 2003. facts only, no text reused. voanews.com
  16. ""Ilham Aliyev, 2012 Person of the Year in organised crime and corruption", Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. facts only, no text reused. occrp.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ilham Aliyev (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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