Vasif Talibov (; born 14 January 1960) is an Azerbaijani politician. Described as

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

, he was the ''de facto'' ruler of Nakhchivan Hans-Joachim Hoppe: Nachitschewan – Vorposten Aserbaidschans (Nakhchivan – outpost of Azerbaijan)
in "Eurasisches Magazin" (in German), August 2, 2011
/ref> for 27 years, from 1995 until his resignation in December 2022. He was the former chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked country, landlocked Enclave and exclave, exclave of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republi ...

, a deputy of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and a member of the Board of Directors of the New Azerbaijan Party. The 2022 Suisse secrets leaks revealed that the Talibov family has enriched itself from questionable sources and maintained an elaborate secretive offshore network of wealth.

Early life and career

Talibov graduated from the faculty of history at Nakhchivan State Pedagogical University (now

Nakhchivan State University Nakhchivan State University (NSU) (Azerbaijani language, Azerbaijani: Naxçıvan Dövlət Universiteti) is a public university located in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan. Founded in 1967 as a part of the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute, ...

) in 1981 and the faculty of law at Baku State University in 1998. In addition to his native Azerbaijani, Talibov speaks

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, Turkish, and some English. Talibov's career began in 1981, with him working as a teacher in the village of Damirchi, in the

Sharur District Sharur District () is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The district borders the districts of Kangarli, Sadarak, as well as the Vayots Dzor and Ararat provinces of Armenia and the West Azerbaijan Prov ...

. Starting 1982, he worked as the instructor on personnel and then as the head of the special department in the knitted-goods factory of Nakhchivan.

Career

Talibov rose to power due to his marriage to Sevil Sultanova, who was related to

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The Constitution of Azerbaijan, Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of Executive (government), executive power, co ...

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 ...

. Aliyev made Talibov his head assistant in 1990, amid the

dissolution 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 the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, and Aliyev became president of the newly independent Azerbaijan in 1993. From September 1991 to April 1994, Talibov was chief assistant of the Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of Nakhchivan. From April 1994 to December 1995 he was the first deputy of the Prime Minister of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on foreign economic relations. He supported Aliyev after his return from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to Nakhchivan to seize power and participated in the establishment of the New Azerbaijan Party. He became a member of the Political Council and Presidium of the NAP, as well as head of the Nakhchivan organisation of the NAP since 8 April 1995. Talibov has been continually elected as deputy of the Supreme Assembly of Nakhchivan since 1995, and has also been elected as Chairman of the Supreme Assembly following each election to the Supreme Assembly of Nakhchivan. On 21 December 2022, Talibov resigned from his position, officially because of health issues; the Supreme Assembly swifltly accepted his resignation and appointed Azer Zeynalov as acting chairman in his place. ''

Eurasianet Eurasianet is a news organisation based at Columbia University's Harriman Institute, the United States, that provides news, information and analysis on countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus region, Russia and Southwest Asia. Launched in 2000, ...

'' reported rumorts that the resignation was part of an attempt by Azerbaijani 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 ...

to increase its control on the region.

Personal life

Talibov is married to Sevil Sultanova who was related to

. They have two sons, Rza Talibov and Seymur Talibov, and a daughter, Baharkhanim Talibova. Rza and Seymur monopolized businesses in Nakchivan. While Vasif Talibov's official salary is $26,000 per year, the 2022 Suisse secrets leaks revealed that the Talibov family has enriched itself from questionable sources and maintained an elaborate secretive offshore network of wealth. Talibov's children have acquired properties worth an estimated $63 million.

Controversies

Talibov's governorship is controversial both within Nakhchivan and abroad. Critics allege that the autonomous Azerbaijani region has fostered a culture of impunity among its security forces, which have been known to use excessive force against opponents of the ruling regime. He is often seen as a member of the ruling

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

centred on the Aliyev family and, according to

Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

, is said to run the region as his "personal fiefdom". During his rule, thousands of citizens have left the region for work abroad and seeking better conditions of life.

Thomas de Waal Thomas Patrick Lowndes de Waal (born 1966) is a British journalist and writer on the Caucasus. He is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe. He is best known for his 2003 book '' Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. Li ...

. ''Black Garden: Armenia And Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. New York: New York University Press, pp. 271.

Awards

* Medal of Glory in 2010 by President Aliyev. * Sharaf Order in 2020 by President Aliyev.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Talibov, Vasif People from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic 1960 births Living people Local politicians in Azerbaijan New Azerbaijan Party politicians Baku State University alumni Members of the 6th convocation of the National Assembly (Azerbaijan)