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Oil-rich Azerbaijan has redefined itself over the past two decades, from a wavering, newly independent state to a major regional energy player.
Agreements with international energy producers allowed Azerbaijan to use its energy revenues to create a government-managed investment fund that would participate in international projects. It has also used its resources to rebuild its army, which is seen as a priority for the government in its fight against the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Despite its growing wealth and influence in the region, poverty and corruption continue to cast a shadow over the country’s development.
The government’s crackdown on human rights defenders and journalists has raised concerns that an immature democracy in Azerbaijan is under threat.
The President: Ilham Aliyev
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Ilham Aliyev assumed the presidency after his father, Haider in 2003.
Aliyev won his most recent term in 2018 in an election that Western observers said fell short of democratic standards.
A law barring the president from serving more than two terms was repealed after the change was approved in a referendum in March 2009, paving the way for Aliyev’s third five-year term in 2013.
In 2016, voters approved in a referendum constitutional changes to expand the president’s powers, including a controversial proposal to lower the minimum age for presidential candidates. The opposition said the move was aimed at cementing the rule of the Aliyev family, as their son is seen as a potential heir to power.
Under his rule, Azerbaijan consolidated its international position, including by hosting the first edition of the European Games in Baku in 2015. However, human rights groups accused his government of suppressing freedom of expression and arresting human rights activists and journalists.
media
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Government media promotes the ruling family and independent websites are controlled
Dissenting voices are practically absent from the mainstream media and critical journalists risk arrest and jail time.
Television is the most popular medium in Azerbaijan. All the country’s channels follow the government line.
Social media is used as platforms for freedom of expression and human rights activism. Facebook is the leading social network in Azerbaijan.
Important milestones in the history of Azerbaijan:
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Azerbaijan is home to the world’s first oil well, which was drilled in the mid-19th century.
1828 – The Turkmenjai Treaty between Russia and the state of Qajar (Iran) divides Azerbaijan. The lands of present-day Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire, while southern Azerbaijan became part of the state of Qajar. Twenty years later, the world’s first oil well was drilled, south of Baku.
1918 The independent Republic of Azerbaijan is declared. But the country became a Soviet socialist republic two years after the invasion of the Red Army.
1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh region seeks to become part of Armenia. Azerbaijanis began to leave the region and Armenia, while Armenians began to leave Azerbaijan. By 1992, the ethnic conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan had turned into an all-out war.
1991 – The Parliament of Azerbaijan votes to restore independence.
1994 Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh have signed a ceasefire agreement. Armenians still control Nagorno-Karabakh and an area of the surrounding lands of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan signs what it calls “the decade of the century” with a group of international oil companies to explore and exploit three offshore oil fields.
