Anvar Afandiyev () is an Azerbaijani military officer, serving as the

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces () is the military of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were ...

. He is the Commander of the Azerbaijani Land Forces and a Deputy Minister of Defence of Azerbaijan. He had taken part in the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

Early life

Anvar Afandiyev was born on 18 November 1965, in the village of Qaşqaçay, in the

Qakh District Qakh District (; ; ) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country, in the Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Zagatala, Shaki, Samukh, Yevlakh, as well as the Kakheti re ...

of the

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

, which was then part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Until 1983, he studied at Qaşqaçay Village Secondary School. In the same year, he entered the

Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School The Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School (BVOKU) was one of the military academies of the USSR. It trained military personnel in a number of specializations. It was located in Baku in the Azerbaijan SSR. History On November 29, 1939, the ...

Military service

In 1987, after successfully completing his military education, he was appointed as a platoon commander in the

Kyiv Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

within the Soviet Army. During this period, he went to

Chernobyl Chernobyl, officially called Chornobyl, is a partially abandoned city in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, to the north of Kyiv and to the southwest of Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. ...

for three months in 1988 to participate in the recovery efforts after

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

. From 1989 to 1992, he served as a division commander and battalion deputy chief of staff for Soviet troops stationed in the

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) was a socialist state that existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia. Its independence was officially recognized by the Nationalist government of Republic of China (1912� ...

. He has been serving in the Azerbaijan Army since 1992 when the Republic of Azerbaijan restored its independence. From the beginning of his service in the Azerbaijan Army, he directly participated in the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

as a regimental commander in the

Aghdam Aghdam () is a town and the nominal capital of the Aghdam District of Azerbaijan. Founded in the 18th century, it was granted city status in 1828 and grew considerably during the Soviet period. Aghdam lies from Stepanakert at the eastern foot ...

. He graduated from the

War College A war college is a senior military academy which is normally intended for veteran military officers and whose purpose is to educate and 'train on' senior military tacticians, strategists, and leaders. It is also often the place where advanced tac ...

in 1999, and the

Turkish Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy () or as it is known historically and popularly Harbiye is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defense University (Turkey), National Defence University. It is located in the cent ...

in 2000. From 2005 to 2008, the deputy chief of the Training and Education Center of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces, and from 2013 to 2015, he served as a battalion commander at the Azerbaijan Higher Military School as well as the Chief of Staff of the Barda Corps. On the 25th anniversary of the modern armed forces in June 2016, he was awarded the military rank of major general. From 2015 to June 2020, he served as the head of the Department of Combat Training of the Ministry of Defense.

Karabakh war and army commander

When the

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, surrounding occupied territories. It was a major esca ...

began, he participated in battles as the commander of the 6th (Reserve) Army Corps. By the decree of the President Ilham Aliyev on July 23, 2021, Major General Anvar Afandiyev was appointed as the first commander of the Ground Forces of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces. That November, he became a Lieutenant General.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valiyev, Karim 1964 births Military personnel from Baku Azerbaijani generals Azerbaijani military personnel of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Living people Recipients of the Azerbaijani Flag Order