Nargiz Birk-Petersen

Nargiz Ilgar qizi Birk-Petersen (née Abbaszadeh; ; born 7 August 1976) is an Azerbaijani-American lawyer, presenter and model. She is known for presenting the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan together with Eldar Gasimov and Leyla Aliyeva.

Career

Birk-Petersen was born and raised in Baku and attended secondary school in the Sabail district. At the age of 16, she began studying law at Khazar University.

In 1994, she decided to leave Khazar University and moved to the United States, where her father lived. Later on, she also obtained a J.D. degree from Wayne State University Law School and an LL.M. degree in international and comparative law from Georgetown University Law Center. In this capacity, she was part of the city's delegation to the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees, alongside First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and Ministers Yaqub Eyyubov and Azad Rahimov.

In the same year, Birk-Petersen was chosen to co-host the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 after participating in a casting organized by the Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai Television. She presented three televised shows on 22, 24 and 26 May 2012 together with singer Eldar Gasimov and television presenter Leyla Aliyeva.

After the Eurovision Song Contest, Birk-Petersen has worked as a counsel for the pharmaceutical companies Novo Nordisk and Shire. Since 2019, she works as a senior director at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.

Personal life Birk-Petersen's mother, Maleyka Abbaszadeh, is the chairperson of the State Student Admission Commission of Azerbaijan.