A book written by deputy of Milli Majlis, a member of the Writers Union of Azerbaijan, Elmira Akhundova - 'Ilham Aliyev: Portrait of a President Against the Backdrop of Change", dedicated to the analysis of history and results of life and leadership of the fourth President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, will be published soon.
This book is a logical continuation of six-volume work of Elmira Akhundova 'Heydar Aliyev: Personality and Epoch', for which writer was awarded the State Prize in literature two years ago. It shows how the successor of national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev came to power, what he achieved at the presidential office. Author pays a lot of attention to this continuity, tells about the impact of Heydar Aliyev on Ilham Aliyev and emphasizes independence of the current president as a statesman.
Ilham Aliyev is shown as a man who earned trust of his people and elites back in the 1990s due to a significant contribution to signing of "Contract of the Century", made as the SOCAR vice-president, due to developing Azerbaijani sport as president of the National Olympic Committee, and due to his help in the development of Baku while working in the Milli Majlis. Using a detailed story of his successes, writer emphasizes that the phenomenon of Ilham Aliyev did not appear out of nowhere, and the fact that he became a successor to Heydar Aliyev was not dictated by dynastic reasons, rather by the need to preserve and increase political and economic heritage of Azerbaijan, accumulated over the past decade: Ilham Aliyev was the most loyal and trusted comrade of his father.
If the first part of this book showed the development of Ilham Aliyev as politician and leader - tells about the events of his life in chronological order, the second one is dedicated to his presidency, sums up his work in various areas up to 2016. In addition to international activity, like the implementation of 'Southern Gas Corridor' project, promotion of multi-vector and balanced foreign policy of Azerbaijan, or the initiation of many major cultural and sports events, a considerable part of the book is dedicated to internal policy, less familiar for foreign readers. Author points out that if Heydar Aliyev is a savior of Azerbaijan, then Ilham Aliyev is a builder of its present and future.
Analytical biography ends at the present day (2016. It also covers constitutional referendum held on September 26). It is filled with excerpts from relevant articles on the meaning of work and figure of Ilham Aliyev as politician and national leader. The fact that it covers modern events and its very wide coverage of materials makes this book very useful for all those who wish to know more about the fourth President of Azerbaijan from reliable sources. It can be expected that in the future we will see a series of books about Ilham Aliyev and his entourage, written by Elmira Akhundova.
