Leyla Aliyeva

Leyla Aliyeva (Azerbaijani: Leyla İlham qızı Əliyeva, born 3 July 1984) is the first daughter of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. She is editor-in-chief of style magazine Baku, launched in London in 2011.[1]

This article is about the daughter of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. For the television presenter, see Leyla Aliyeva (presenter).
Leyla Aliyeva
Leyla İlham qızı Əliyeva
Born (1984-07-03) 3 July 1984
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
NationalityAzerbaijani
Soviet
OccupationVice-President:
Heydar Aliyev Foundation;
Founder and Director:
International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA);
Founder and Editor-in-Chief:
Baku magazine;
Chairwoman:
Azerbaijani Youth Organization of Russia (AYOR);
Author
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 2006; div. 2015)
Children3
Parent(s)Ilham Aliyev
Mehriban Aliyeva
Websitehttp://www.leyla-aliyeva.az/en/

Early life

According to her personal website, Aliyeva was born in Moscow on 3 July 1985.[2] British company records, however, give her date of birth one year earlier, 3 July 1984, noting that the individual's details have been authenticated.[3]

From 2006 to 2008, Leyla Aliyeva pursued a master's degree at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-MSIIR; also the alma mater of her father). She was the Chairwoman of the Azerbaijan Club at MGIMO until 2010.

In July 2011, the Taraggi (Progress) Medal was conferred upon Leyla Aliyeva for her contributions to the development of Azerbaijan–Russia relations.[4]

Leyla Aliyeva is the mother of three children: Ali, Mikail and Amina.[5]

In 2010 The Washington Post reported that Leyla along with her sister Arzu and brother Heydar own real estate in Dubai that is worth about $75 million.[6] However, her husband at the time, Emin Agalarov, is the son of Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov.[7] It is stated that those properties were bought by her father-in-law.[7]

In May 2015 Aliyeva announced through Instagram that she had divorced Agalarov.[8] Agalarov wrote: "We remain friends and continue to raise our children together".[8]

Business interests

Banking

Leyla together with her sister own number of banks in Azerbaijan. She is listed as ultimate owner of Pasha Bank [9], Kapital Bank [10], Xalq Bank[11] as per their IFRS reporting and ExpressBank according to records collected by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).[12]

Professional career

Heydar Aliyev Foundation

Aliyeva is Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation,[13] a non-commercial organisation that carries out a mixture of charitable, cultural and political ambassadorial projects, presided over by her mother Mehriban Aliyeva, the country's First Lady and vice-president.

Since 10 May 2007, Aliyeva has headed the representative office of the Foundation in Russia.[14] As part of these programmes, she drives charitable initiatives, often with an emphasis on supporting underprivileged young people.[15]

On 1 November 2011, Aliyeva was presented with a "Key to Life" award at the annual benefit ball of the US charity Children's Cancer & Blood Foundation.[16]

Environmentalism

The initiative International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA), announced by Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva on 12 July 2011 will serve as a platform for active involvement of the youth with the global movement on sustainable development.[17]

According to her, environmental problems associated with climate change, increased carbon emissions, increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, processes in the oceans, drought and humanitarian crisis in different parts of the world cannot leave the younger generation indifferent.

The vision of the campaign is: "Releasing the power of youth to create greater harmony with our global environment." The IDEA campaign entails a number of actions aimed at raising awareness of environmental issues and the need to protect the environment among young people and the international community.

In 2012 as a founder of IDEA (International Dialogue for Environmental Action),[18] Leyla Aliyeva initiated The Children’s Eyes On Earth project with Reza,[19] one of the best-known photojournalists in the world. Later, within the framework of that project The Children's Eyes On Earth International Youth Photography Contest[20] was launched, becoming a great opportunity for youth to raise awareness about important environmental issues, with photographs on the themes "I Love Nature and I Fear Pollution." The main idea behind the contest was to create an opportunity to share experiences and to help promote an understanding of some of the challenges facing our planet and to establish one of the main platforms to inspire families, business people, decision-makers, politicians and others around the world to take action.

Political activity
Leyla Aliyeva with her parents

Aliyeva promotes Azerbaijani culture in Russia. She has long been active in working with young Azerbaijanis who study and live in Russia and Europe.[21] Leyla Aliyeva is guided in her public work by the slogan, "We must stick together and cooperate"[22] Aliyeva initiated and leads the International Awareness Campaign "Justice for Khojaly, Freedom for Karabakh" and on 18 April 2009. On 24 February 2012 Leyla Aliyeva attended opening ceremony of "Park of Friendship" and unveiled a monument to victims of Khojaly Massacre in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[23] Leyla Aliyeva was elected Chairwoman of the Azerbaijani Youth Organization of Russia (AYOR). For example, one particular project by the Azerbaijani Youth Organization of Russia, called "Blood Has No Nationality", involves young Azerbaijanis donating blood for sick children.[21]

On 30 June 2012 Leyla Aliyeva attended a special meeting called "New leaders for tomorrow" of Crans Montana Forum and delivered speech about environmental issues and importance of the young generation in this sphere.

Other activities

Leyla Aliyeva has implemented various projects - films, charity events, campaigns for the rights of animals, youth actions.[24]

Since 10 May 2007, Leyla heads the representative office of the Foundation in Russia. As part of these programmes, Leyla drives charitable initiatives, often with a focus on supporting underprivileged youths.[24]

Ali and Nino

Leyla Aliyeva was the executive producer of Ali and Nino, while it was written by British screenwriter Christopher Hampton and directed by British filmmaker Asif Kapadia. Based on the novel of the same name by an Azerbaijani writer, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016.[25]

Awards

On 22 November 2011, she was awarded with a UN certificate and a special card.[26]

On 5 April 2013, Leyla Aliyeva was honoured with the “For Protecting the Environment” Prize by the Board of the Organizing Committee of the 7th International Project Olympiad for Protection of the Environment.[27]

On 20 December 2013, she was decorated with “Princes Olga” Order of 3rd Grade, and was awarded the “For Services to Volgograd Region” Prize.[28]

In May 2015, Leyla Aliyeva was conferred on the title of a Goodwill Ambassador of UN Food and Agriculture Organization for her contributions.[29]

On 20 October 2015, Leyla Aliyeva was awarded Russian Federation's "Pushkin" Medal. On 4 November 2015, at a reception in honour of the People’s Unity Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the "Pushkin" Medal to Leyla Aliyeva.[30]

On 28 September 2016, by a decision of the Moscow State International Relations Institute's Scientific Council, she was conferred on "Medal of Merit".[27]

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References
  1. Luft, Oliver (2011-06-29). "Condé Nast to publish international edition of Baku magazine - Media news". Media Week<. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  2. "Leyla Əliyevanın şəxsi veb-saytı". Leyla-aliyeva.az. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  3. "Certificate of Incorporation of a Private Limited Company". Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  4. "Azərbaycan Prezidentinin Rəsmi internet səhifəsi - SƏNƏDLƏR » Sərəncamlar Azərbaycan diasporunun inkişafındakı xidmətlərinə görə bir qrup şəxsin təltif edilməsi haqqında Azərbaycan Respublikası Prezidentinin Sərəncamı". President.az. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  5. "Leyla Aliyeva adopts girl from orphanage". Vestnik Kavkaza. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  6. Higgins, Andrew (March 5, 2010). "Pricey real estate deals in Dubai raise questions about Azerbaijan's president". Washington Post. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  7. "BBCAzeri.com | Ön səhifə | "Washington Post" : "Dubay malikanələri danışa bilsəydilər"..." www.bbc.com (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  8. "Дочь президента Азербайджана сообщила о своем разводе через Instagram" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  9. https://www.pashabank.az/uploads/hesabat/2017_07/Annual_report_2016_ENG_final_web.pdf
  10. https://kapitalbank.az/useruploads/reports/Kapital%20Bank%20FS_2016_%20ENG.pdf
  11. http://www.xalqbank.az/site/assets/files/1173/audit_report_2016_xalq_bank_sml.pdf
  12. https://www.occrp.org/en/corruptistan/azerbaijan/2015/06/11/azerbaijani-first-family-big-on-banking.html
  14. "Azerbaijan cultural center opens in Moscow (PHOTO) - Trend.Az". En.trend.az. 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  15. "Xalq Qəzeti". Xalqqazeti.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva starts a global youth environmental campaign". Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  18. "International Dialogue for Environmental Action". Ideacampaign.org. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  19. "REZA Photography". REZA Photography. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  20. "Children's Eyes On Earth | International Youth Photo Contest". Childrenseyesonearth.org. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  21. "Leila Aliyeva: Azerbaijan could become a bridge between civilizations | European Dialogue". Eurodialogue.org. 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  22. Rzayeva, Camilla (2008-05-08). "Leyla Aliyeva: "We must stick together and cooperate" - Diaspora - Visions of Azerbaijan Magazine". Visions.az. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  23. "Heydar Aliyev Foundation VP Leyla Aliyeva unveils monument to victims of Khojaly genocide in Sarajevo - PHOTOS". Today.Az. 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  24. "LEYLA ALIYEVA is Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation". Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  25. "Ali and Nino film to premier at Sundance". Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  26. "Leyla Aliyeva". Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  27. "Vice President of Foundation". Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  28. "Leyla Aliyeva awarded with high order of Russian Orthodox Church". Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  29. "Cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)". Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  30. "President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin presents the "Pushkin" Medal to Leyla Aliyeva". Retrieved 12 July 2017.
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