20 years pass since first election of Ilham Aliyev as President of Azerbaijan PHOTO

Today marks 20 years since the first election of Ilham Aliyev as President of Azerbaijan.

Caliber.Az recalls that Ilham Aliyev was elected president of Azerbaijan on October 15, 2003.

On October 1, 2003, national leader Heydar Aliyev, in an address to the Azerbaijani people, said: “Addressing you, my compatriots, I urge you to support the presidential candidate, my political successor, first deputy chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party, Ilham Aliyev, in the upcoming presidential elections. He is a highly intelligent, energetic and proactive person with a pragmatic mindset, well-versed in modern world politics and economics. I assure you that both Ilham Aliyev and the New Azerbaijan Party, having closely united around themselves the worthiest sons and daughters of our people, will do a lot towards the development of the Azerbaijani state and the well-being of our people. I believe that with your help and support, Ilham Aliyev will be able to complete the fateful issues and plans that I was not able to complete. I trust him as myself and have high hopes for his future.”

And so it happened, the people supported the call of the great leader. In the presidential elections held on October 15, 2003, more than 76 per cent of voters voted for Ilham Aliyev and elected him President of Azerbaijan, thus a new stage in the development of our country began.

Taking office, President Ilham Aliyev at the inauguration ceremony thanked the Azerbaijani people for the trust they placed in him and once again declared his commitment to the policies of Heydar Aliyev.

“To transform Azerbaijan into a powerful state, first of all, it is necessary to continue the policy of Heydar Aliyev. Speaking today from a high rostrum, I promise the Azerbaijani people that I will remain faithful to this policy, will never turn away from this path, and will continue the policy of Heydar Aliyev,” said President Ilham Aliyev.

Over the 20 years of his activity, President Ilham Aliyev has fulfilled all the promises made to the people. Over the years, the rapid development of our country has been achieved in all spheres, people's well-being has improved, Azerbaijan's political and economic opportunities have been expanded, a modern army has been created, and the position of our country in the international arena has been strengthened. All international, large-scale projects implemented today in the region are carried out with the participation of Azerbaijan, taking into account its national interests.

Under President Ilham Aliyev's leadership, Azerbaijan's territorial integrity was fully ensured and the great leader’s dream of liberating our lands was fulfilled. During the 44-day Patriotic War of 2020, the President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev regularly addressed the people. These appeals firmly united the Azerbaijani people into a single fist and strongly influenced the course and result of the war. Each address by the head of state became the beginning of new victories.

It was the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev, who conveyed joyful news to the Azerbaijani people at that time. On November 10, 2020, Armenia signed an act of surrender.

Thus, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan showed the whole world its strength and power both on the battlefield and in the political arena. During the Patriotic War, the head of state cancelled out all Armenia’s efforts on the information front, giving interviews to the world’s leading media. President Ilham Aliyev became a spokesman for Azerbaijani realities around the world thanks to his addresses to the people, publications on Twitter and about 30 interviews that he gave during this time.

In his eighth address to the people, Ilham Aliyev announced the liberation of all of Karabakh and the end of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict with the phrase “Karabakh is Azerbaijan and an exclamation mark,” which became a national slogan.

September 19 of this year to implement the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration, prevent large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan, disarmament and withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the territory of our country, neutralize their military infrastructure, ensure the safety of the civilian population, including those involved in construction and restoration work in the liberated territories, and our military personnel, local anti-terrorism measures were launched in the region to restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

As part of the events, which lasted just over 23 hours, advanced and deep positions and long-term firing points of the formations of the Armenian armed forces, as well as combat assets and military facilities, were disabled using high-precision weapons. The enemy surrendered, raising a white flag. Thus, the constitutional order was restored throughout the territory of Azerbaijan, and the tricolour flag of our country flutters in every part of Karabakh.

Today, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the economy of Azerbaijan is successfully developing, construction and restoration work is in full swing in Karabakh, and social programs are being implemented. All this gives reason to say that Azerbaijan will soon turn Karabakh into a paradise, and former internally displaced persons expelled from their ancestral lands will safely return to their homes.

Let us note that the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was born on December 24, 1961, in Baku. In 1967-1977 he studied at Baku Secondary School No. 6. In 1977-1982 he studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). After graduating in 1982, he entered graduate school at MGIMO.

In 1985, he defended his dissertation and received the academic degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences, and in 1985-1990 he was a teacher at MGIMO. In 1991-1994 he worked in private business and managed a number of industrial and commercial enterprises. From 1994 to August 2003, he was first vice-president and then first vice-president of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He took an active part in the implementation of the oil strategy of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

In the parliamentary elections of 1995 and 2000, he was elected as a deputy of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Since 1997 - President of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. In 1999 he was elected deputy, in 2001 - first deputy chairman, and in 2005 - chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party. In 2001-2003, he headed the delegation of Azerbaijan’s Parliament to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). In January 2003, he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and a member of the PACE Bureau.

On August 4, 2003, after approval by the Milli Majlis, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In this regard, his parliamentary powers were terminated. On October 15, 2003, Ilham Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. More than 76 per cent of voters voted for Ilham Aliyev in the presidential elections. In 2004 he was awarded a diploma of an honorary member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and a PACE medal.

In the elections held on October 15, 2008, Ilham Aliyev, having received 88.73 per cent of the votes, was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the second time.

In the elections held on October 9, 2013, Ilham Aliyev, having received 84.54 per cent of the votes, was once again elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In the elections held on April 11, 2018, Ilham Aliyev, having received more than 86 per cent of the votes, was again elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Aliyev speaks Azerbaijani, Russian, English, French and Turkish.

He is married and has three children and five grandchildren.

In addition, Ilham Aliyev has been awarded honorary orders from many countries and is an honorary doctor of a number of world-famous universities. Possessing great authority in the world sports community, the President of Azerbaijan was awarded by many international sports organizations.