The future head of state was born in Baku in 1961, finished school here, became a student of the most, perhaps, prestigious university of the former USSR, MGIMO, stayed there for a teaching job, defended his thesis…
But then Ilham Aliyev’s career at MGIMO was cut short. Later, in August 2020, the President of Azerbaijan would recount these events in his interview to the MGIMO Journal: “…I had to leave the Institute where I studied, completed postgraduate studies and worked for about 15 years, at the very beginning of the 1990s. The reason was that my father Heydar Aliyev, who took a principled position against the erroneous domestic and foreign policy of the then USSR leadership, was practically labeled an enemy of the people. He was subjected to persecution, and the Soviet press waged a vicious campaign of vilification and slander against him, inspired personally by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The MGIMO leadership informed me that Heydar Aliyev’s son could not teach at the university for political reasons.” In January 1990, after the brutal massacre committed by the Soviet army in Baku, Ilham Aliyev together with Heydar Aliyev attended the famous press conference at the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow, where Heydar Aliyev essentially gave the first political assessment of the January tragedy in Baku. Then he returned to Baku, worked as Vice President of SOCAR, participated in oil contract negotiations, became Prime Minister—and ran for President in 2003.
Ilham Aliyev took the helm of the country 20 years ago, and many things have been accomplished in these 20 years. Perhaps, those who believe that the name of Ilham Aliyev will be linked in history primarily with the victory in Karabakh are right. But it is also true that before winning the war, Azerbaijan won peace under the leadership of Ilham Aliyev. In 2006, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was inaugurated, the pipeline once called “an unviable political project” that would never work.
Poverty and unemployment were brought down from a frightening 50% to a respectable 6%. Medical centers, sports complexes, industrial clusters were built in the regions. New roads were laid, the best in the CIS. A program that would be most fair to call an “infrastructural revolution” was implemented: a new commercial port on the Caspian Sea, a ferry crossing, modernized railroads… Civil aviation that meets the highest standards was created; this is not only AZAL and Buta, but also SilkWay cargo aviation. In 2015, Azerbaijan implemented a new super project: the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad. Pipelines and railroads laid the economic foundation for the regional partnership between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye.
Azerbaijan hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, the first European Games, the Islamic Solidarity Games, the final match of the Europa League between Chelsea and Arsenal… All this worked for the country’s “recognizability”. Azerbaijan was steadily turning into one of the popular tourist destinations.
At the same time, there was other, often invisible, work underway: preparations for the liberation of Karabakh. Under the leadership of the President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Azerbaijan was consistently building an army with a capital “A”, procuring and mastering state-of-the-art weapons, training officer cadres…
Concurrently, subtle and yet ruthless diplomatic work was being carried out. It was necessary to prepare the political ground for a future military operation, to prioritize UN Security Council resolutions over the amorphous proposals of the Minsk Group. And most importantly, not to succumb to “soft pressure”, not to break down and give in. Gain broad international support. Strengthen and “cement” brotherly relations with Türkiye. Create another front to support Azerbaijan: the Non-Aligned Movement. Strengthen positions in the EAEU and CSTO, where Armenia is a member and Azerbaijan is not, but where Azerbaijan has a solid influence. Carry out ideological work, thanks to which there was not a single desertion in the Azerbaijani Army in all 44 days of the war, and the whole country was truly one fist.
It was this work in a variety of areas, arduous, often invisible to the eye, without spotlights and cheers, that made these 44 days of Azerbaijan’s victorious counter-offensive possible. The days when we truly appreciated what was behind President Ilham Aliyev’s phrase: “Karabakh is Azerbaijan, exclamation mark!”. Which means “We know very well what and when to do. This is why our successful operation today has led to great results. I know what to do, and when and how to do it. The Azerbaijani people believes in me. And I, relying on this trust, take all necessary measures, confidently govern our country in all areas, including army building.” Now we begin to realize what colossal work was done to make it possible to say “Shusha is ours, Karabakh is ours, Karabakh is Azerbaijan!”. To sign the Shusha Declaration in liberated Shusha, cementing the military alliance with brotherly Türkiye. To make the capital cities that did not even think to look up Azerbaijan on the map of the world see our country as a force to be reckoned with.
Today, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan is tackling new challenges. These include converting the military victory into a full-scale settlement and a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Rebuilding the districts liberated from Armenian occupation and turning them into an economically viable and profitable region: our country has to carry out reconstruction works on a completely destroyed territory the size of four Luxemburgs. Two international airports are already operational there today.
Azerbaijan is expanding gas exports to Europe and exporting electricity, a resource the country had to import not so long ago. Political changes are gaining momentum, including the fight against corruption and the reform of the state governance system. In 20 years, Azerbaijan has traveled a road that took other countries centuries. Today, our country is an influential, strong, self-sufficient state, an undisputed leader of the whole region, a country whose position and interests cannot be ignored.
Many people’s labor is behind these changes and achievements. But they would hardly have been possible without a well-thought-out state strategy, without precise and balanced decisions, without Aliyev’s political foresight, will and determination. The statesman under whose leadership Azerbaijan won both peace and war.
Happy birthday, Mr. President!
