The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Azerbaijan

This page contains a list of the greatest Azerbaijani Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 30 of which were born in Azerbaijan. This makes Azerbaijan the birth place of the 79th most number of Politicians behind North Macedonia, and Indonesia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Azerbaijani Politicians of all time. This list of famous Azerbaijani Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Azerbaijani Politicians.

1. Heydar Aliyev (1923 - 2003)

With an HPI of 73.67, Heydar Aliyev is the most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 79 different languages on wikipedia.

Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev (Latin), Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев (Cyrillic), IPA: [hejˈdæɾ æliɾˈzɑ oɣˈlu æˈlijef]; Russian: Гейда́р Али́евич Али́ев, IPA: [ɡʲɪjˈdar ɐˈlʲijɪvʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲijɪf]; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to October 2003. He was a high-ranking official in the KGB of the Azerbaijan SSR, serving for 28 years in Soviet state security organs (1941–1969). He governed Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969 to 1982 as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. He held the post of First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1987. He rose through the ranks due to his close associations with Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov. Aliyev was installed as president of Azerbaijan after the 1993 military coup ousted President Abulfaz Elchibey. Elchibey was a prominent Soviet dissident and Azerbaijani nationalist leader who had been elected as president in independent Azerbaijan's first free election in 1992. Aliyev's installation as president put an end to Azerbaijan's short post-independence democratic interlude. Shortly after taking charge, Aliyev organized a presidential election where he won nearly 99% of the vote. His regime in Azerbaijan has been described as dictatorial, authoritarian, and repressive. He was also said to have run a heavy-handed police state where elections were rigged and dissent was repressed. A cult of personality developed around Aliyev, which has continued after his death in 2003. Shortly before his death, his son Ilham Aliyev was elected president in a fraudulent election and continues to lead Azerbaijan to this day.

2. Ilham Aliyev (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 70.82, Ilham Aliyev is the 2nd most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 109 different languages.

Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev [ilˈhɑm hejˈdæɾ oɣˈlu æˈlijev]; born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth and current president of Azerbaijan since 2003. The son and second child of former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev, Aliyev became the country's president on 31 October 2003, after a two-month term as prime minister of Azerbaijan, through a presidential election defined by irregularities shortly before his father's death. He was reelected 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. Throughout his electoral campaign, Aliyev was a member of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, which he has headed since 2005. Azerbaijan being oil-rich is viewed to have significantly strengthened the stability of Aliyev's regime and enriched ruling elites in Azerbaijan, making it possible for the country to host lavish international events, as well as engage in extensive lobbying efforts. Aliyev's family have enriched themselves through their ties to state-run businesses. They own significant parts of several major Azerbaijani banks, construction firms and telecommunications firms, and partially own the country's oil and gas industries. Much of the wealth is hidden through an elaborate network of offshore companies. Aliyev was named Corruption's 'Person of the Year' by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in 2012. 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. Many observers see Aliyev as a dictator. He leads an authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan; elections are not free and fair, political power is concentrated in the hands of Aliyev and his extended family, corruption is rampant, and human rights violations are severe (including torture, arbitrary arrests, as well as harassment of journalists and non-governmental organizations). The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continued during Aliyev's presidency and devolved into a full-scale war in 2020 in which Azerbaijan regained control over the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that were lost during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, as well as a part of Nagorno-Karabakh region itself. Then, in the fall of 2023, Azerbaijan initiated a military offensive in the disputed region which ended with the surrender of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh and mass displacement of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Aliyev and his government has faced accusations of ethnic cleansing and war crimes in the aftermath of this military operation.

3. Arghun (1250 - 1291)

With an HPI of 68.01, Arghun is the 3rd most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Arghun Khan (Mongolian Cyrillic: Аргун; Traditional Mongolian: ᠠᠷᠭᠤᠨ; c. 1258 – 10 March 1291) was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate division, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a devout Buddhist (although pro-Christian). He was known for sending several emissaries to Europe in an unsuccessful attempt to form a Franco-Mongol alliance against the Muslim Mamluks in the Holy Land. It was also Arghun who requested a new bride from his great-uncle Kublai Khan. The mission to escort the young Kököchin across Asia to Arghun was reportedly entrusted to Marco Polo. Arghun died before Kököchin arrived, so she Arghun's son Ghazan married her instead.

4. Abulfaz Elchibey (1938 - 2000)

With an HPI of 66.43, Abulfaz Elchibey is the 4th most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: Əbülfəz Qədirqulu oğlu Əliyev; 24 June 1938 – 22 August 2000), better known as Abulfaz Elchibey (Azerbaijani: Əbülfəz Elçibəy), was an Azerbaijani politician, Azerbaijani nationalist and Soviet dissident who was the first and only democratically elected President in post-Soviet Azerbaijan. He was the leader of the Azerbaijani Popular Front and played an important role in achieving Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union. Elchibey was elected as the president of Azerbaijan in independent Azerbaijan's first free election. He served from 17 June 1992 until his overthrow in a 24 June 1993 military coup backed by Russia that led to the installation of Heydar Aliyev as president. Elchibey's brief rule was the only post-Soviet period in which Azerbaijan has been democratic. During his rule, Elchibey sought to dismantle the old communist system domestically, such as the planned economy and the black market. In his foreign policy, he sought to re-orient Azerbaijan to the West. However, Elchibey's attempted reforms were put to a halt by the 1993 coup. According to historian Audrey Altstadt, Elchibey faced several major problems during his tenure as president: "the war in Nagorno-Karabagh (with loss of land and creation of refugees), inflation and related economic problems (including slow progress on an oil deal with foreign investors), and the remnants of Russian-Soviet control and influence of the old order. The most immediately pressing problem was unrest around Baku." During his tenure, Elchibey had to contend with an administration staffed by former Communists and military forces that were not under his control. He positioned himself as a pan-Turkist while holding hostile views towards Iran and Russia.

5. Nadezhda Alliluyeva (1901 - 1932)

With an HPI of 66.19, Nadezhda Alliluyeva is the 5th most famous Azerbaijani Politician. Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Nadezhda Sergeyevna Alliluyeva (Russian: Надежда Сергеевна Аллилуева; 22 September [O.S. 9 September] 1901 – 9 November 1932) was the second wife of Joseph Stalin. She was born in Baku to a friend of Stalin, a fellow revolutionary, and was raised in Saint Petersburg. Having known Stalin from a young age, she married him when she was 17, and they had two children. Alliluyeva worked as a secretary for Bolshevik leaders, including Vladimir Lenin and Stalin, before enrolling at the Industrial Academy in Moscow to study synthetic fibres and become an engineer. She had health issues, which had an adverse impact on her relationship with Stalin. She also suspected he was unfaithful, which led to frequent arguments with him. On several occasions, Alliluyeva reportedly contemplated leaving Stalin, and after an argument, she fatally shot herself early in the morning of 9 November 1932.

6. Ayaz Mutallibov (1938 - 2022)

With an HPI of 63.47, Ayaz Mutallibov is the 6th most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Ayaz Niyazi oghlu Mutallibov (12 May 1938 – 27 March 2022) was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the first president of Azerbaijan. He was the last leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, and first President of Azerbaijan from 18 May 1990 until 6 March 1992 and from 14 May until 18 May 1992. He rose through the ranks of the Azerbaijan Communist Party during Soviet Azerbaijan before becoming leader of the party in 1990. Later that year, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR elected Mutallibov as the first President of Azerbaijan SSR. In September 1991, amid the collapse of the Soviet Union and independence of Azerbaijan, Mutallibov declared himself President of Azerbaijan in an uncontested election. He was ousted from power in May 1992 when he tried to cancel the forthcoming presidential election.

7. Artur Rasizade (b. 1935)

With an HPI of 62.59, Artur Rasizade is the 7th most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Artur Tahir oghlu Rasizade (Azerbaijani: Artur Tahir oğlu Rasizadə; born 26 February 1935) is an Azerbaijani politician who served as the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan from 1996 until 2018 under the authoritarian regimes of Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham Aliyev. Thomas de Waal writes of Rasizade's tenure that he "had no political influence", "was unknown outside the country" and his "departure barely merited any commentary." Rasizade was a long-time Communist Party member during the Azerbaijan SSR period.

8. Garegin Nzhdeh (1886 - 1955)

With an HPI of 62.50, Garegin Nzhdeh is the 8th most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, better known by his nom de guerre Garegin Nzhdeh (Armenian: Գարեգին Նժդեհ, IPA: [ɡɑɾɛˈɡin nəʒˈdɛh]; 1 January 1886 – 21 December 1955), was an Armenian statesman, military commander and nationalist revolutionary. As a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, he was involved in the national liberation struggle and revolutionary activities during the First Balkan War and World War I and became one of the key political and military leaders of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1921). He is widely admired as a charismatic national hero by Armenians. In 1921, he was a key figure in the establishment of the Republic of Mountainous Armenia, an anti-Bolshevik state that became a key factor that led to the inclusion of the province of Syunik into Soviet Armenia. During World War II, he cooperated with Nazi Germany, hoping to secure Soviet Armenia's existence in case of Germany's victory over the USSR and a potential Turkish invasion of the Caucasus. Following an abortive attempt to cooperate with the Soviet Union against Turkey, Nzhdeh was arrested in Bulgaria in 1944 and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment in the Soviet Union. He died in Vladimir Central Prison in 1955.

9. Ali Asadov (b. 1956)

With an HPI of 62.14, Ali Asadov is the 9th most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Ali Hidayat oghlu Asadov (Azerbaijani: Əli Hidayət oğlu Əsədov; born 30 November 1956) is an Azerbaijani politician serving as the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan following his appointment to the post on 8 October 2019 by president Ilham Aliyev.

10. Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh (1884 - 1955)

With an HPI of 61.36, Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh is the 10th most famous Azerbaijani Politician. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Mahammad Amin Akhund Haji Molla Alakbar oghlu Rasulzade (31 January 1884 – 6 March 1955) was an Azerbaijani politician, journalist and the head of the Azerbaijani National Council. He is mainly considered the founder of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 and the father of its statehood. His expression "Bir kərə yüksələn bayraq, bir daha enməz!" ("The flag once raised shall never fall!") became the motto of the independence movement in Azerbaijan in the early 20th century.

People

Pantheon has 40 people classified as Azerbaijani politicians born between 1250 and 1998. Of these 40, 19 (47.50%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Azerbaijani politicians include Ilham Aliyev, Artur Rasizade, and Ali Asadov. The most famous deceased Azerbaijani politicians include Heydar Aliyev, Arghun, and Abulfaz Elchibey. As of April 2024, 10 new Azerbaijani politicians have been added to Pantheon including Mirza Davud Huseynov, Gazanfar Musabekov, and Surat Huseynov.