Ilham Aliyev

Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He has been the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005.

He is the son of former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev and became the country's president on 31 October 2003 after a two-month term as the prime minister of Azerbaijan, through a presidential election defined by irregularities, shortly before his father's death. Ilham Aliyev was re-elected for a second term in 2008 and was allowed to run in elections indefinitely in 2013, 2018 and 2024 due to the 2009 constitutional referendum, which removed term limits for presidents. He is also the husband of Mehriban Aliyeva, Vice President of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan's oil-rich territory has significantly strengthened the stability of Aliyev's regime and enriched the nation's ruling elite, enabling it to host lavish international events, as well as engage in extensive lobbying efforts. Aliyev's family has also enriched itself through ties to state-run businesses. They hold significant stakes in several major Azerbaijani banks, construction and telecommunications companies, as well as in the country’s oil and gas sector. In 2012, Aliyev was named the "Person of the Year" by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project for featuring prominently in stories on crime and corruption. In 2017, it was revealed that Aliyev and his family were involved in the Azerbaijani laundromat, a complex money-laundering scheme to pay off prominent European politicians to deflect criticism of Aliyev and promote a positive image of his regime.

Aliyev is widely considered a dictator, presiding over an authoritarian government characterized by the absence of free and fair elections, pervasive corruption, and serious human rights violations. Aliyev’s regime is also known for promoting Sunnification, and the suppression of Shia Islam to tighten control, and align with Turkey. His regime is known for the harassment of journalists and non-governmental organizations, as well as the ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

During Aliyev's presidency, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict escalated into a full-fledged war in 2020 and — following a military siege and renewed offensive in 2023 — expelled all Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and reincorporated the territory into Azerbaijan.