Vali Yusif oghlu Akhundov (; – 22 August 1986), also spelled as Veli Akhundov, was an Azerbaijani politician and physician who headed 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 ...

as the First Secretary of the

Azerbaijan Communist Party The Azerbaijan Communist Party (; ) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was formed on 20 February 1920, when ...

from 1959 to 1969.

Early life

Akhundov was born in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, in the Baku Governorate of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1916. In 1941, he graduated from Azerbaijan State Medical Institute and completed his research in 1964 receiving PhD in Medical Sciences and obtaining a title of a Professor and academician in 1964 and 1966, respectively. From 1946 through 1949, Akhundov served as the Chairman of Committee of Trade Union of Medical Workers. In 1949, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Public Health of Azerbaijan SSR and left the post for the position of Deputy Chief of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Azerbaijan SSR in 1953 and in 1954 was appointed the Minister of Public Health of Azerbaijan SSR which he held until 1958. Akhundov served as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers for a period of one year and was eventually appointed the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan SSR, a position he held until 1969 when he was replaced by

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 ...

Scientific activity

Academician V.Y.Akhundov is the author of more than 400 scientific works, including 6 monographs, and editor of many scientific collections and works. Veli Akhundov’s monographs are the result of his many years of research. Most of his scientific works are primarily devoted to the study of various aspects of environmental hygiene, and doubtless the contribution of V.Y.Akhundov to the hygienic science and sanitary practice of Azerbaijan is indisputable. In addition to water supply, he paid much attention to the problem of rural hygiene, soil hygiene, including in connection with the use of mineral fertilizers, bacterial contamination of dwellings, problems of infectious pathology due to the sanitary condition of rural settlements in 1960-70. The distinctive features of scientific works of V.Y.Akhundov are their indispensable, organic connection with life and actual problems of practical public health.

First Secretary of Communist Party

Veli Akhundov succeeded Imam Mustafayev who served as the First Secretary from February 1954 to 1959. During his career, Akhundov was blamed for the economic crisis and was accused of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

. In the mid 1960s, the number of ethnic Azerbaijanis in the Azerbaijan Communist Party apparatus grew making up 61%, however, many key posts were still held by ethnic Russians and Armenians. Akhundov is credited in Azerbaijan for rebuffing the

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n claims for

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was an Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union, autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its capital was the city of Stepanakert. The majori ...

in 1965 while he was in office. After the end of political career, Akhundov served as the Vice President of the

Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) (, located in Baku, is the main state research organization and the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of science and social sciences in Azerbaijan. It was ...

until 1972. He was then the principal at the Institute of

Virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...

Microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

and

Hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

until his death in 1986.

Awards

Akhundov has been awarded with

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

and other ordens and medals of honor throughout his political and scientific career.

References

1916 births 1986 deaths Politicians from Baku People from Baku Governorate Azerbaijani atheists First secretaries of the Azerbaijan Communist Party Azerbaijan Medical University alumni Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Members of the Central Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Heads of the government of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Burials at II Alley of Honor Ministers of health of Azerbaijan {{Azerbaijan-politician-stub