Artur Rasizade

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Artur Rasizade (born 26 February 1935) is an Azerbaijani politician who was the country’s prime minister for most of the period from 1996 to 2018. He served under Presidents Heydar Aliyev and Ilham Aliyev and is Azerbaijan’s longest-serving prime minister.

Early life and career
Rasizade was born in Kirovabad, now Ganja, into a family of teachers. His father died in World War II. He studied at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University and trained as an engineer. He worked at oil industry institutes and, over the years, held several leadership roles in engineering and planning. By the mid-1990s he had become a close aide to President Heydar Aliyev and held senior government posts.

Prime ministerial tenure
Rasizade became first deputy prime minister in 1996 and then served as prime minister. He led Azerbaijan’s government in several terms: from late 1996 to 1998, from 1998 to 2003, and from November 2003 until April 2018, with a brief interruption in 2003 when Ilham Aliyev became president and Rasizade temporarily stepped aside. He was succeeded as prime minister in 2018 by Novruz Mammadov. He also served as acting prime minister for short periods, including six days in October 1998.

Party and personal life
He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union before 1991 and later joined the New Azerbaijan Party. He has one daughter.

Awards and honors
Rasizade has received several awards for his work, including the Istiglal Order (2006) and the Shohrat Order (2015). He has also been honored with other national orders and the French Legion of Honour, among others, and he was a recipient of the USSR State Prize in 1971.