Mehriban Aliyeva: “Every society needs ideals”

Mehriban Aliyeva, the First Lady of Azerbaijan, the president of the Heydar Aliyev Fund, a goodwill ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO, a member of the Azerbaijani parliament, is marking her birthday today. Mehriban Aliyeva is notable as a protector of Azerbaijani culture, a philanthropist and upbringer of young people in the spirit of the ideas of Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev. In the 1990s the Azerbaijani Cultural Fund was founded to promote Azerbaijani music, architecture, painting and applied arts. She has been heading the Heydar Aliyev Fund that supports children and parents, builds and reconstructs children’s centers.

Mehriban Aliyeva has given an unusual and very honest interview with Baku Magazine.

 

- Are you introverted or extroverted?

- Introverted. Reflection is an unusual condition for my being. Although I am probably considered an extrovert in society.

- Monochrome or colour?

- Monochrome. One colour is a sign of unity and laconism.

- Fast or slow?

Speed. Any movement is preferable to static.

- Day or night?

- Day. I do not like the unconscious state.

- What would you like to change in the world?

- I have no will to change the world. I am more interested in changing myself. It gets better. I think it is a much more useful thing.

- Should a doctor be merciful?

- I wish mercy was a trait of all people, regardless of their profession.

- Spring or autumn?

- Spring and autumn. And summer. And winter. Spring may happen in February too. In the soul.

- Why haven’t you become an actress?

- A small cinematography-related episode in my early adolescence did not provoke the will to be an actress in me.

- What is your favourite number?

- Seven.

- An optimist or pessimist?

- An optimist. I like the theory of materialism of mind and word. So why materialize the negative?

- Your main life principle?

- Keep dignity in any situation.

- Your favourite stone?

- The opal. It is abysmal and always different.

- What three traits in people are the most important for you?

- Dignity, intellect, kindness.

- We live in a time of total disjunction. There are more treacheries, substitution of true values with false ones. Can a person in the 21st century live without love?

- Love for humanity in all times is a feeling absolutely boundless, necessary and inevitable. Like breathing.

- Does a modern society need ideals?

- Any society needs ideals. Ethical ones.

- What would you change in your past if the Lord gave you such powers?

- The illness and passing away of my most dear person, my mother.

- Dostoyevsky said that beauty will save the world. Is this true? Can women affect the course of world events or are all decisions in the hands of male politicians?

- Dostoyevsky was talking about spiritual beauty on behalf of his character. That “evil cannot be the normal state of people.” That only the Good is truly beautiful. If anything can save the planet from death, it is the Good. The gender issue here is not important, I suppose.

- What rule in life do you always follow?

- To be exceptionally natural, real. Not to play. Not to act.

- Why is life so fragile?

- I do not know why human life is so fragile. Maybe this is the basis of spiritual strength?

An unusual and very honest interview given by the First Lady of AzerbaijanMehriban Aliyeva, the First Lady of Azerbaijan, the president of the Heydar Aliyev Fund, a goodwill ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO, a member of the Azerbaijani parliament, is marking her birthday today. Mehriban Aliyeva is notable as a protector of Azerbaijani culture, a philanthropist and upbringer of young people in the spirit of the ideas of Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev. In the 1990s the Azerbaijani Cultural Fund was founded to promote Azerbaijani music, architecture, painting and applied arts. She has been heading the Heydar Aliyev Fund that supports children and parents, builds and reconstructs children’s centers.Mehriban Aliyeva has given an unusual and very honest interview with Baku Magazine.- Are you introverted or extroverted?- Introverted. Reflection is an unusual condition for my being. Although I am probably considered an extrovert in society.- Monochrome or colour?- Monochrome. One colour is a sign of unity and laconism.- Fast or slow?Speed. Any movement is preferable to static.- Day or night?- Day. I do not like the unconscious state.- What would you like to change in the world?- I have no will to change the world. I am more interested in changing myself. It gets better. I think it is a much more useful thing.- Should a doctor be merciful?- I wish mercy was a trait of all people, regardless of their profession.- Spring or autumn?- Spring and autumn. And summer. And winter. Spring may happen in February too. In the soul.- Why haven’t you become an actress?- A small cinematography-related episode in my early adolescence did not provoke the will to be an actress in me.- What is your favourite number?- Seven.- An optimist or pessimist?- An optimist. I like the theory of materialism of mind and word. So why materialize the negative?- Your main life principle?- Keep dignity in any situation.- Your favourite stone?- The opal. It is abysmal and always different.- What three traits in people are the most important for you?- Dignity, intellect, kindness.- We live in a time of total disjunction. There are more treacheries, substitution of true values with false ones. Can a person in the 21st century live without love?- Love for humanity in all times is a feeling absolutely boundless, necessary and inevitable. Like breathing.- Does a modern society need ideals?- Any society needs ideals. Ethical ones.- What would you change in your past if the Lord gave you such powers?- The illness and passing away of my most dear person, my mother.- Dostoyevsky said that beauty will save the world. Is this true? Can women affect the course of world events or are all decisions in the hands of male politicians?- Dostoyevsky was talking about spiritual beauty on behalf of his character. That “evil cannot be the normal state of people.” That only the Good is truly beautiful. If anything can save the planet from death, it is the Good. The gender issue here is not important, I suppose.- What rule in life do you always follow?- To be exceptionally natural, real. Not to play. Not to act.- Why is life so fragile?- I do not know why human life is so fragile. Maybe this is the basis of spiritual streng