“There is such a theory that the name given to a person at birth has the potential to influence his/her entire fate. I can’t say how true this theory is in real life, but such notions as goodness and mercy are really important for me. I think, in a broad sense, mercy is the best and one of the highest human qualities.”

  Mehriban Aliyеva

August 26 is the birthday of Azerbaijan’s First Lady and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva.

Mrs M. Aliyeva has long gained the love of the whole people with her bright personality and socio-political activities. Since May 10, 2004, she has been engaged in large-scale social activities as the President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. She started her activity by studying and solving numerous problems of that part of our society which are in need of social protection  ‒ children deprived of parental care, orphans, children born with physical and mental disabilities, disabled children, as well as children with thalassemia and diabetes, lonely, sick old people, homes where these people live, and boarding schools. M.Aliyeva was awarded a prize of the World Health Organization (WHO) for her great contributions to the protection and strengthening of mother, child and family health upon the unanimous decision of the Session of the Executive Committee of the Organization in 2007. This is one of the dozens of prestigious awards of Mrs M. Aliyeva.

Interest in her personality and multifaceted activities is also high in the international arena. As a result of studies carried out by the prestigious world newspaper The Times, the name of M. Aliyeva was included in the list of the 5 most famous active first ladies in the world along with such women as Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton. The famous Vogue Magazine in an article dedicated to Mrs M. Aliyeva stated:”She is one of the best dressed women in the world, who has the most impeccable taste.” The article dedicated to M. Aliyeva and published in The Washington Times was titled as “Azerbaijan’s First Lady: An Exemplary Female Image for Muslim Women.”  The First Lady was nominated for the title “Great Woman of the 21st Century”, which was awarded to a number of outstanding women of our time, including Queen Elizabeth II of England, Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mother Teresa and others, who gained world fame for their good deeds. As stated in the dozens of articles,  Mrs M. Aliyeva combines such qualities as beauty, nobility, intellect, goodwill, mercy, ability to communicate with people in a unique form.

Mrs M. Aliyeva presently celebrates her birthday in Shusha, Lachin, Kalbajar and Fuzuli liberated after 28 years of occupation and makes an unprecedented contribution to the restoration of life in the territories destroyed by our vandal neighbours, as well as to the resettlement of residents in their homes.

Mrs M. Aliyeva, the personification of elegance and kindness of an Azerbaijani woman, is the daughter-in-law of Heydar Aliyev, the founder of the independent Azerbaijan state and the national leader, and Zarifa Aliyeva, the world-famous scientist-ophthalmologist, the granddaughter of Mir Jalal Pashayev, the outstanding classic of our literature, the favourite daughter of the major organizer of science and education, Academician Arif Pashayev and the prominent orientalist Aida Imanguliyeva. Furthermore, Mrs M. Aliyeva with honour and dignity carries out her mission as a faithful companion of life and the closest ally of Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

We congratulate Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva on her birthday and wish her new successes in her tireless work for the prosperity of our independent Azerbaijan.