September 22, 2015

Mehriban Aliyeva's heart policy

An increase has been observed during the last fifty years in women’s role in politics. Azerbaijan’s first lady - the inspirer of her country’s social-humanitarian and cultural modernization - is also among the eminent women-leaders of the modern world.

 

Without doubt, historians of the later periods will study the phenomenon of Mehriban Aliyeva with much interest. And for us, it is of significance to understand the genesis of this phenomenon arising from the harmonic unity of a number of aspects.

 

On the one hand, the formation of a leader like Mehriban Aliyeva in Azerbaijan may be considered as destiny. To be fair, her initiatives and recommendations have turned into the driving factor of social, humanitarian and cultural modernization of Azerbaijan - a country located at the crossroads of civilizations’ platforms.

 

On the other hand, formation of this phenomenon in the national political space fully complies with the world trend. After all, in terms of Eurasian East’s political history, the “factor of Aliyeva” is a natural example of women’s joining politics in a revolutionary way and extension of the possibilities of their finding a way to majority of the world countries’ management structure. From this standpoint, Azerbaijan once more brings to attention its existence in the circle of the historically formed “woman policy” of Eurasia.

 

Under the leadership of Mehriban Aliyeva, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has, indeed, turned into a non-institutional means of development in Azerbaijan. By its projects, the Foundation supplements the state policy in healthcare, science and education, and develops pilot projects for the country on information technologies and protection of environment.

 

Mehriban Aliyeva’s matchless activity and influence as UNESCO goodwill ambassador and the head of the first European Games Organizing Committee in Baku has played a big part in the organization of this world-level, large-scale sports event, and this gave a strong push to the European idea and a new Eurasian factor.

 

The role of Azerbaijan’s first lady in the changing of the Azerbaijani capital’s architectural image should not be looked over. A number of projects carried out by the world’s best architects that turned Baku into a modern city in a true sense of the word were realized with personal involvement of Mehriban Aliyeva.

 

Thus, she could manage to synthesize in her job two directions – promoting Azerbaijan in the world as a complex humanitarian “brand” and the country’s systemized social and cultural development. Under her leadership, this two processes are moving forward side by side.

 

It is gratifying that all these are done not just by an appointed official, but a progressive-minded person with active life position, infinite energy and strong charisma. What is most important is that we should not forget that we are talking about a charming woman who has brought up three children. The unity of beauty and benevolence turns each of her steps into reality that changes the social reality. Apparently, the secret of Mehriban Aliyeva’s phenomenon is hidden in this…

 

With all her heart with the people

 

Fame is a quite extensively spread phenomenon peculiar to majority of pop-stars, actors and politicians. No one is surprised by a struggle for position in conditional ratings. Everyone understands that this game is artificially boosted. And to be popular among the people is a different matter. This is totally different matter not affected by an instant situation.

 

Why do common Azerbaijanis love the first lady of the country? In the person of Mehriban Aliyeva, they see a person who takes interest in their wishes and is able to go beyond protocol and express her position on every serious problem, as opposed to an organization person who would prefer keeping away. An interesting fact: in a relatively small country, she receives about 300 letters from within the country every day. They write to her as they know that having appealed to her, they may get support, or advice. Azerbaijani President’s spouse always accompanies him during the visits within the country. That is to say, she is always among people and, whereby she makes her contribution to relations between the power and the society. On the other hand, this is a lively contribution and, therefore, it is more valuable in the people’s eyes than the standard "mechanical" structures of administrative communications. Because, benevolence and compassion stems from a human’s inner world, otherwise the society would not accept it. People feel that the first lady has always been thinking about them.

 

This is such a circumstance where charisma and charming personality is united with high level of intellectuality. Either by the upbringing received, or generosity, or the education (she graduated from the I.M.Sechenov Moscow State Medical University), Mehriban Aliyeva has left Azerbaijan’s Soviet period intelligentsia environment behind. There is unlikely another first lady in the world who could be of this level. Elite people with such qualities are usually cold-blooded, and try not to take the people’s problems and cares closely to their hearts. But Mehriban Aliyeva can heartily share other peoples’ sorrow. This is impossible to imitate by playing a role. This is her nature.

 

The environment Mehriban khanum was shaped in is inseparably linked with Azerbaijan’s history. The phenomenon of Mehriban Aliyeva is, along with other factors, also the result of two families – Pashayevs and Aliyevs – becoming related. The grandfather of Mehriban khanum – eminent Azerbaijani writer and literary critic-scholar Mir Jalal Pashayev was born in Iran. Her mother Aida Imanguliyeva was a well-known Arabic philologist and headed the Institute of Oriental Studies under the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. There is no need to introduce the father of Mehriban khanum’s husband, President Ilham Aliyev: Heydar Aliyev is the builder of contemporary independent Azerbaijan. This fact says a lot…

 

These families are a national elite. In Azerbaijan, people are indeed pride of them. And this relies on a very simple reason – the burden of responsibility for the country and the people rests on their shoulders. They have been through the pains of tests of the time. Usually the abundance of boon makes the elite weaker. And these families, on the contrary, speed up and stimulate reforms by their personal energy. Without doubt, we are talking about active personalities of modern Azerbaijani history.

 

In the context of world politics

 

Mehriban Aliyeva is an exclusive, from the historical standpoint, taken separately in Azerbaijan and post-Soviet area, but objective natural phenomenon in terms of global processes. We are talking about the increasing role of women in politics for the last 50 years. This process was initiated by Sirimavo Bandaranaike. She became the first woman-prime minister in the world on 21 July 1960. Under her leadership, the isle was freed from colonial dependence and war. Then, she was twice elected prime minister.

 

As a result of women’s coming to politics, numerous interesting and progressive changes occurred in Asia and in the world at large: Prime minister of India Indira Gandhi; first woman-head of government Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan – a country with prevailing Muslim population – in the modern history; first woman-president in Asia Cory Aquino. This is to say, feminization of politics in the Asian continent is a well-known process.

 

Mehriban Aliyeva’s name will, without doubt, remain among the contemporary world’s eminent women-leaders, regardless of what kind of future the destiny has prepared for her. Who knows, maybe in her country she would rise along a vertical line, or maybe as the number of horizontal social and humanitarian projects grows, her role too would grow. In any case, she is a mature unofficial leader of Azerbaijan.

 

Certainly, she will leave her mark in the world of diplomacy. Azerbaijan’s first lady has indeed made exclusive contribution to the global dialogue of civilizations. Mehriban khanum is an unofficial representative of the East in the West, and represents Europe, the “homeland” of Western values, in Asia – her homeland. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation, under the leadership of the first lady, started to play a big role in the Islamic-Christian dialogue in Europe. For the first time in Vatican’s history, an organization operating in a Muslim country provides support for the restoration of holy Christian monuments. In Azerbaijan itself, Catholic and Orthodox churches, and synagogues are renovated following the Foundation’s initiative.

 

The role of a bridge between civilizations that Azerbaijan has undertaken is not an easy task to fulfil. Just pay attention, what is happening now in a region which once developed as a “crossroads” of cultures and civilizations – the Middle East. In fact, it is impossible to secure long-term peace in any part of the Middle East. Azerbaijan is a totally different example. It shows that peace may dominate at the border between the platforms of different civilizations and cultures.

 

Alongside the President

 

Like any other country where traditions play a significant role, Azerbaijan too is dependent on what role the leader, the president, plays on the political peak. President Ilham Aliyev’s strict and principal policy is, no doubt, for the benefit of Azerbaijan’s modernization. His policy gives an impetus to the elite, and keeps them always vigilant. In such a case, what is the first lady’s role?

 

Her role is much higher than imaginations of the role of the President’s spouse. Development of the Azerbaijani model of democracy in this phase is dependent on who beside the President is, what people his team has been formed of, and the closest people like Mehriban khanum - his spouse. In a certain sense, she mitigates Ilham Aliyev’s strictness and, at the same time, strengthens his power from the standpoint of implementing interesting projects in the social field that seem “risky” for the country, and makes the direct relations between the power and the society more interesting in emotional terms.

 

It should be taken into account that she is quite influential person for her formal status on the country’s political square, and is a deputy chairperson of the New Azerbaijan Party. Soon – on 1 November - parliamentary elections will take place in the country. The ruling party should prove, at these elections, that it can meet the society’s wishes. It is well-known that the “ruling party” gains strength also from the love and confidence that Azerbaijani society have for the country’s first lady.

 

I would conclude my thought with these words: if you want to understand Azerbaijan, sense this country, then you cannot avoid the personality like Mehriban khanum. Her place is outside the executive authority’s formal structure, but is in the politics which has been written by big letters as a factor of Ilham Aliyev’s power. One cannot deny or ignore her role in the systemized social and economic development of Azerbaijan. We can resolutely say that she will forever live in the Azerbaijani history.

 

Alexander Karavayev


political scientist, 

Russian representative of “Economics” 

International Analysis Union (Azerbaijan)


pnp.ru


russia-today.ru