Today marks the 64th birthday of the President of Azerbaijan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev, EDnews reports.

Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev was born on December 24, 1961, in Baku. He studied at Secondary School No. 6 in the Azerbaijani capital from 1967 to 1977. Between 1977 and 1982, he attended the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), where he later continued postgraduate studies. In 1985, he defended his dissertation and was awarded the degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences. From 1985 to 1990, he worked as a lecturer at MGIMO. Between 1991 and 1994, he was engaged in private business and headed several production and commercial enterprises.

From 1994 until August 2003, Ilham Aliyev served as vice president and later first vice president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan. During this period, he played an active role in implementing the oil strategy developed by national leader Heydar Aliyev. He was elected to the Milli Majlis (Parliament) in 1995 and again in 2000. Since 1997, he has served as President of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan.

Ilham Aliyev became deputy chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party in 1999, first deputy chairman in 2001, and chairman of the party in 2005. From 2001 to 2003, he led the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). In January 2003, he was elected Deputy Chairman of PACE and became a member of its Bureau. Following parliamentary approval on August 4, 2003, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, after which his parliamentary mandate was terminated.

Ilham Aliyev was first elected President of Azerbaijan on October 15, 2003, receiving more than 76 percent of the vote. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary diploma and medal by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He was re-elected president in 2008 with 88.73 percent of the vote, again in 2013 with 84.54 percent, and in 2018 with 86.02 percent. In the snap presidential election held on February 7, 2024, Ilham Aliyev was re-elected with 92.12 percent of the vote.

President Aliyev is fluent in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, French, and Turkish.

On September 27, 2020, in response to a large-scale provocation by the Armenian Armed Forces on the frontlines, the Azerbaijani Army launched a counter-offensive, later called the Iron Fist. The 44-day Patriotic War ended with the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from occupation, thanks to the leadership, diplomatic skills, principled attitude, and iron will of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was ensured. Thus, under the Supreme Command of President Ilham Aliyev, our army, implementing the unfulfilled UN Security Council resolutions, cleared Karabakh of the enemy in a short time. All this results from Ilham Aliyev's far-sighted policy, commanding skills, political, economic, and military reforms implemented in Azerbaijan, and successful foreign policy.

On September 19, 2023, local anti-terrorist measures were launched in the region in order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Declaration, prevent large-scale provocations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, disarm and withdraw the Armenian armed forces units from Azerbaijani territories, neutralize their military infrastructure, ensure the safety of civilians returning to the liberated territories and the civil workers and military personnel involved in the reconstruction work, and restore the constitutional structure of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

During the measures that lasted for a little more than 23 hours, the positions of the Armenian armed forces on the front line and in-depth and long-term firing points, as well as combat vehicles and military objects, were destroyed by the use of high-precision weapons. The enemy raised a white flag. With this, the constitutional structure was restored in all territories of Azerbaijan.

Report News Agency congratulates President Ilham Aliyev on his 64th birthday and wishes the Supreme Commander-in-Chief a long life, good health and success in his endeavors!