Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Chair of the Silk Road Support Group of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Member of Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Date of birth: 23 June 1971
Nationality: Azerbaijani
Marital Status: Married, 3 children
Political Party Affiliation: Independent
Member of Parliament since 2005
Positions in the Parliament:
2005-Present: Member of the Permanent Committee on State Building and Legislative Policy of the Parliament of Azerbaijan
2005-Present: Head of Azerbaijan-Romania Inter-parliamentary Working Group
2005-Present: Member of the Azerbaijan-Austria, Azerbaijan-Czech Republic, Azerbaijan-Estonia, Azerbaijan-Republic of South Africa, Azerbaijan-Serbia, Azerbaijan-Switzerland, Azerbaijan-Turkey and Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Inter-parliamentary Working Groups
Current positions and activities in the OSCE PA:
2005-Present: Member of the Delegation of Azerbaijan to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
2005-2013 : Participated in election monitoring missions of OSCE PA in the United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Georgia, Romania and Belarus
2013-2016: Vice-Chair of the General Committee on Political Affairs and Security of the OSCE PA
2016-Present: Vice-President of the OSCE PA
2016: Appointed as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Election Observation Mission to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for the parliamentary election
2016: Appointed as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Election Observation Mission to Montenegro for the parliamentary election
2017-Present: Chair of the Silk Road Support Group of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
2017: Appointed as Special Co-ordinator and Leader of the short-term OSCE observer mission to Kyrgyzstan for the presidential election
Other positions:
2008-Present: Chair of the Council on State Support to NGOs under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Author of 2 laws:
2009: The Law “On Voluntary Act” of the Republic of Azerbaijan:
This law regulates the relations stemming out of socially useful voluntary services provided by legal entities and individuals.
2013:The Law “On Civic Participation” of the Republic of Azerbaijan:
This law creates mechanisms that allow citizens to directly participate in the decision-making processes of the local and state government bodies.
Principal Sponsor of 4 OSCE PA resolutions:
2013: OSCE PA Resolution on “Strengthening Civil Society Institutions in the OSCE Region”:
The objective of the resolution is to encourage the participating states and OSCE institutions to ensure establishment of an enabling environment for the national NGOs to grow, develop and actively participate in the decision making process in their respective countries.
2014: OSCE PA Resolution on “Protection of Cultural Property in the OSCE Area”:
The objective of the resolution is to make the participating nations aware of their responsibilities to respect international conventions, and protect, preserve and refrain from illicit movement of properties, of high cultural and historical value, especially in the conflict areas currently under their occupation.
2015: OSCE PA Resolution on “Adherence to the Helsinki Principles in Inter-State Relations Across the OSCE Area”:
The objective of the resolution is to highlight the importance of adherence to the Helsinki Principles in inter-state relations, especially, concerning the protracted conflicts in the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova and necessity of resolution of these conflicts in accordance with provisions of international law, in particular, complying with the principles of respect for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of the abovementioned States.
2018: OSCE PA Resolution on “Promoting Connectivity in the OSCE area through Development of Transport Links and Corridors, Including by Revitalizing the Ancient Silk Road”:
The objective of the resolution is to make a strong focus on the importance of strengthening of cooperation in the scopes of trade and transport, as well as the facilitation of the relevant procedures in this regard in view of the growing significance of the multimodal North-South and East-West corridors. The resolution also highlights the great potential of the revitalization of the Great Silk Road and supports activities carried out by the Silk Road Support Group of the OSCE PA.
Member of:
1999-Present: Supervisory Board of the Social Development Fund of the Internally Displaced Persons of the Republic of Azerbaijan
2001-Present: Pardon Issues Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
2005-Present: State Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Prisoners of war, Hostages and Missing People
2005-Present: Joint Working Group on Human Rights Issues in Azerbaijan
2013-Present: State Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan on cooperation with the European Union
Public activities:
1993-1998: Head of the “Elite” Youth Club and the “Peace and Security Union of Azerbaijani Youth”
1998-1999: Head of the National Council of Youth organizations of Azerbaijan Republic
1999-2008: President of National NGO Forum of Azerbaijan
2001-2003: Civil Society Expert in GTZ (Germany) – German Agency on Technical Cooperation
Educational background:
1992-1997: Faculty of History (graduated with distinction), Baku State University – Baku, Azerbaijan
1995-1996: International Advanced Public Administration Executive Program, Public Administration Institute for Turkey and the Middle East – Ankara, Turkey
2007-2013: PhD in Political Science, theses title: “Place of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Social-Political system: National and International experience”, Faculty of International Relations, Baku State University – Baku, Azerbaijan
2010: The short-term course on “Strategic Management for NGO leaders”, Harvard Kennedy School – USA
Academic activities:
Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science: defended the dissertation titled “Place of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Social-Political system: National and International experience”.
Author of more than 30 academic articles, published in prestigious journals of the USA, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other European countries.
Languages:
Azerbaijani (native), English, Russian and Turkish
