Mehriban Alieva

Mehriban Arif gizi Aliyeva (; born 26 August 1964) is an Azerbaijani politician and former physician who is the First Vice President and First Lady of Azerbaijan.

She is married to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan. Aliyev created the position of First Vice President in 2017 and appointed his wife to the position.

Early life and family Mehriban Pashayeva was born in Baku, and is from a family described in leaked US Embassy cables as "the single most powerful family in Azerbaijan." Her grandfather was the writer Mir Jalal Pashayev, an Iranian Azerbaijani born in Iran. Her uncle Hafiz Pashayev was Azerbaijan's first Ambassador to the United States. Her father, Arif Pashayev, is Rector of the National Aviation Academy in Baku, and her mother, Aida Imanguliyeva (1939–1992) was a philologist and Arabist, daughter of the journalist and pedagogue Nasir Imanguliyev.

Education and early career Aliyeva finished secondary school number 23 in 1982. and later continued her studies at the Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy, from which she graduated in 1988. From 1988–92, Mehriban Aliyeva worked at the State Research Institute of Eye Diseases of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow, which was led by Dr. Mikhail Krasnov. Aliyeva got her PhD after defending a thesis on "Euthanasia and humanism issues in medicine" in 2005. In 1996, she founded the magazine "Azerbaijan - Heritage" published in three languages (Azerbaijani, English and Russian) in order to promote Azerbaijani culture.

Leaked documents reveal that in 2003 she registered an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands, Rosamund International Ltd.

Aliyeva established on 10 May 2004 The Heydar Aliyev Foundation also sponsors projects outside Azerbaijan, including helping to finance renovations at the Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, and Strasbourg Cathedral.

She is UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, and Goodwill Ambassador of ISESCO. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan at the 4th General Assembly of the NOC on 28 December 2004.

Since 2004, she is a member of the Political Board of the New Azerbaijan Party, which her husband is the leader of. She was selected as the deputy chairperson of the Party in June 2013. The Sunday Times, writing in 2005 about Aliyeva's decision to run for the Azerbaijani parliament, described her as already wielding "considerable influence," and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation as "a powerful and wealthy institution set up to safeguard the late president's legacy and support a number of educational and charitable projects."

First Vice President

On 21 February 2017, she was appointed First Vice President of Azerbaijan by her husband Ilham Aliyev, the president and authoritarian leader of Azerbaijan. If her husband would step down, she would become President of Azerbaijan.

Political repression Aliyeva has claimed that Azerbaijan is a land of political tolerance and denied claims of mass political imprisonment. In 2015, when asked about the plight of imprisoned journalists Khadija Ismayilova and Leyla Yunus, Mehriban did not respond. Her appointment as First Vice President coincided with the detention of more opposition party activists, which may have been an attempt to stifle any attempts to protest the move. In Azerbaijan, power is concentrated in the hands of Aliyev and his extended family, and human rights violations include torture, arbitrary arrests, as well as harassment of journalists and non-governmental organizations.

Personal life

She married Ilham Aliyev, the son of Heydar Aliyev, in Baku on 22 December 1983.

Aliyeva has undergone extensive plastic surgery. Leaked diplomatic cables dating from a 2008 visit to Baku reveal that US officials were unable to immediately distinguish the First Lady from her two daughters Arzu and Leyla due to the extensive operations, and worded that Aliyeva "has problems showing a full range of facial expressions, following substantial cosmetic surgery, [done] presumably overseas" and "wears dresses that would be considered provocative even in the Western world". – Heydar Aliyev Order – The Person of 2005 – Woman of Year (2005) – The Person of 2015 – Cossack Glory – Academician Mikayil Huseynov Medal (2017) – Uzeir Hajibeyli honorary medal

Foreign honours – Legion of Honour – Honorary Diploma of the State of Kuwait – Hilal-e-Pakistan – Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland – Sretenjski Orden – 'Ruby Cross' Order of Philanthropists of the Century International Charity Foundation of Russia – Golden Heart International Award – Order of "For Services to Astrakhan Region" – Gold Medal of the Crans Montana Forum – "Prix de la Fondation" Prize of the Crans Montana Forum – "The Symbol of Humanism - The Person of 2012" – Martyr Benazir Bhutto Woman Perfection Prize - 2013 – Commander's Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary – Diploma of an honorary citizen of Veliko Tyrnovo – Saint Princess Olga Order of 2nd degree of the Russian Orthodox Church – Order of Friendship (13 August 2019) – Order of Pope Pius IX, Dame Grand Cross (22 February 2020)

International organizations UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Goodwill Ambassador of ISESCO Ihsan Doğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize UNESCO Mozart Medal High Order of the European Olympic Committee

Honorary degrees – Honorary doctor of the Veliko Tarnovo University – Honorary doctor of the Israel Medical Academy