The Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy (; named after

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

) is an educational institution of 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 ...

. In order to be admitted into the academy, candidates have to be between the ages of 17 and 19 and have completed secondary school education.

Background

The predecessor institution to the current academy was the Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School (BVOKU), which was founded on 29 November 1939 as one of many military academies of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. By 1951, the developing school was ranked 6th place among the best infantry schools in the USSR. The school was disbanded in 1991 as a result of the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

. Among the notable alumni of the BVOKU are former defense minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan, Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan

Zakir Hasanov Zakir Asger oghlu Hasanov (; born 6 June 1959) is an Azerbaijani politician and colonel general who has been the Ministry of Defence (Azerbaijan), Minister of Defence of Azerbaijan since 2013. Early life and education He was born on 6 June 1959 ...

and Armenian military leader during the Karabakh War

Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan Arkady Ivani Ter-Tadevosyan (; ; May 22, 1939 – March 31, 2021), also known by his nom-de-guerre Komandos (), was a Soviet and Armenian Major General, a military leader of the Armenian forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and Armeni ...

Development

The BVOKU was replaced the following year by the Baku High Joint Commanders School, which was created to meet the Azerbaijani military's needs. Some of the first graduates of the school took part 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 ...

until it ended in the summer of 1994. Since 1997, the admission and teaching standards have been implemented in accordance with contemporary education standards. President

on 20 August 2001 renamed the school to its current name. His son, President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

added the honorary name of Heydar Aliyev to the school's full name in March 2004, following his father's death just 3 months before. By presidential decree of 24 December 2015, the Azerbaijan Higher Naval Academy and the Azerbaijan High Military Aviation School were abolished and transferred to the Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy with the establishment of the corresponding faculties there.

Present day

Graduates of the school are awarded a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

the rank of '' leytenant'' upon their commission into the armed forces.

Student life

In August 2019, the academy

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

, led by Colonel Ekhtibar Aliyev, took part in the

Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo The Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival is an annual military music event and military tattoo held in Moscow on Red Square. Participating in the festival are Russian and foreign military bands, folk groups, and honor guard units ...

, representing Azerbaijan for the first time. In 2020, it was among the units that took part in the Baku Victory Parade in honor of the victory in 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 ...

Alumni

* Shukur Hamidov,

National Hero of Azerbaijan The National Hero of Azerbaijan () is the highest national title in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The title was named on 25 March 1992, and the "Qizil Ulduz" Medal awarded as a sign of receiving this title was established by a separate law on 15 J ...

* Samid Imanov, member of the Special Forces of Azerbaijan * Ilgar Mirzayev, colonel of artillery serving in the 3rd Army Corps until his death during the July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes. * Anar Novruzov, the "Father of AGS-17", who was killed in the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. * Hasan Hasanov, resident of the

Kalbajar District Kalbajar District () is one of the 66 Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan, districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Lachin Distric ...

killed in July 2014.

Rectors of the School

* Major Ivan Kovalev (1992–2002) * Lieutenant General Heydar Piriyev (2002–2009) * Colonel Mirzali Yusifov (5 November 2013–?) *Major General Fuzuli Salahov (?–Present)

References

{{CIS Military Academies Educational institutions established in 1992 Military academies of Azerbaijan 1992 establishments in Azerbaijan