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

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Ilham Aliyev's first election as the President of Azerbaijan.

According to Report, Ilham Aliyev was elected the President of Azerbaijan on October 15, 2003.

National Leader Heydar Aliyev addressed the people during the decisive period of the presidential elections of 2003: "I call on you, my compatriots, to support Ilham Aliyev, the presidential candidate, my political successor, the 1st Deputy Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party, in the upcoming presidential elections. He is highly intelligent, pragmatic, well-versed in modern world politics and economy, an energetic and enterprising personality. I assure you that both Ilham Aliyev and the New Azerbaijan Party will continue uniting our most worthy persons and do a lot for the development of the Azerbaijani state and the prosperity of our people. I believe that with your help and support, Ilham Aliyev will be able to complete the fateful issues, plans and work that I have not been able to bring to the end. I believe in him as much as I believe in myself and have high hopes for his future.."

The people supported the Great Leader's call. As a result, in the presidential elections held on October 15, 2003, more than 76% of voters voted in favor of Ilham Aliyev and elected him the President of Azerbaijan, and thus a new stage in the development of our country began.

President Ilham Aliyev said at the swearing-in ceremony: "I'd like to express my deep gratitude to voters, citizens and the entire people of Azerbaijan for confiding in me and electing me President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I will justify this great confidence and cope with this duty decently. I will continue the policy of Heydar Aliyev. To accomplish all this it is necessary to do a lot in Azerbaijan to turn Azerbaijan into powerful state, it is necessary to continue Heydar Aliyev's policy in Azerbaijan. Today, speaking from this high rostrum, I promise to the Azerbaijani people that I shall remain loyal to this policy and will never deviate from this path; I shall continue Heydar Aliyev's policy."

President Ilham Aliyev has fully fulfilled his promises to the people during his twenty-year tenure. During this period, the rapid development of our country was achieved in all areas, and people's well-being improved even more. The political and economic opportunities of Azerbaijan have been expanded, our modern Army has been created, and the positions of our country in the international arena have been strengthened. Today, all international, large-scale projects executed in the region are implemented with the participation of Azerbaijan, taking into account its national interests.

Most importantly, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was fully ensured, and the Great Leader's sacred wish for the liberation of our lands was fulfilled. During the 44-day Patriotic War, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev regularly addressed the people. Those addresses brought the people of Azerbaijan even closer together, united them like a fist, and had a tremendous impact on the course and outcomes of the war. Every appeal was a harbinger of further victories.

Of course, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev, delivered all the good news to the people of Azerbaijan. On November 10, 2020, the act of Armenia's capitulation, the "Statement of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and President of the Russian Federation", was signed.

Thus, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan showed its strength and might to the whole world both on the battlefield and in the political arena. During the Patriotic War, the head of state drew a line on the information front of Armenia with his interviews with the world's leading media organizations. President Ilham Aliyev has become the herald of Azerbaijan's truth worldwide with his address to the people, tweets, and about 30 interviews he gave during this period.

On the same day, in his eighth address to the nation, Ilham Aliyev announced that his phrase "Karabakh is Azerbaijan and an exclamation mark", which had become a national slogan, already covered the whole of Karabakh and put an end to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

On September 19 of this year, anti-terrorist measures of a local nature were launched in the region in order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Declaration, prevent large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region, disarm and withdraw the Armenian armed forces units from our territories, neutralize their military infrastructure, ensure the safety of civilians returning to the liberated territories and the civil workers and military personnel involved in the reconstruction work, and restore the constitutional structure of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Within the framework of actions that lasted for a little more than 23 hours, the positions of the Armenian armed forces on the front line and in-depth and long-term firing points, as well as combat vehicles and military objects were destroyed by the use of high-precision weapons. The enemy raised a white flag. With this, the constitutional structure was restored in all territories of Azerbaijan. At present, the glorious tricolor flag of Azerbaijan is waving everywhere in Karabakh.

Today, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the economy of Azerbaijan is developing successfully, reconstruction activities in Karabakh continue in full force, and social programs are implemented. All this suggests that Azerbaijan will soon turn Karabakh into a paradise, and former IDPs who were displaced from their ancestral lands will safely return to their homes forever.

Ilham Heydar Aliyev was born on December 24, 1961, in Baku. In 1967-1977 he studied at the secondary school No. 6 in Baku. In 1977-1982 he studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). After graduating, he continued with postgraduate studies at MGIMO.

In 1985 he defended his dissertation and received the degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences, and in 1985-1990 he was a teacher at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. From 1991 to 1994, he conducted private business and headed several production and commercial enterprises. From 1994 to August 2003, he was the vice-president and then the first vice-president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan. He took an active part in the implementation of national leader Heydar Aliyev's oil strategy.

He was elected a member of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) in 1995 and 2000. He has been the president of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan since 1997. He was elected deputy chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party in 1999, first deputy chairman in 2001, and chairman of the party in 2005. In 2001-2003, he was the head of the delegation of the Azerbaijani 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.

After the approval of the Parliament on August 4, 2003, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In this regard, his MP mandate was terminated. Ilham Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on October 15, 2003. More than 76 percent of voters voted for Ilham Aliyev in the election. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary diploma and medal of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Ilham Aliyev, who won 88.73% of the vote in the October 15, 2008 elections, was re-elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In the election held on October 9, 2013, Ilham Aliyev won 84.54% of the vote and was re-elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In the election held on April 11, 2018, Ilham Aliyev was re-elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan with 86.02% of the vote.

Ilham Aliyev speaks Azerbaijani, Russian, English, French, and Turkish. He married Mehriban Aliyeva in 1983. He has three children, Leyla, Arzu, and Heydar, and five grandchildren.

In addition, Ilham Aliyev was awarded honorary orders from many countries, he holds more than one honorary doctorate from prestigious universities. The President of Azerbaijan, who has a great influence on the world sports community, has been awarded by many international sports organizations.