Today, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, turns 64.
Ilham Aliyev was born on December 24, 1961, in the city of Baku.
Between 1967 and 1977, he studied at Secondary School No. 6 in the Sabail district of the capital.
This photo, presented in the “History of a Photo” section of the Modern.az website, reflects the period when the President studied at Secondary School No. 6.
The photo was provided to our website by Rauf Hasanli, who was Ilham Aliyev's classmate.
According to him, he studied in the same class as Ilham Aliyev from the first bell on September 1, 1967, until the last bell on June 15, 1977.
This photo was also taken in 1977, in the final year of secondary school.
“Our class was the largest in the school. There were 45 students,” R. Hasanli said, recalling those years.
“Once, when Ilham Aliyev was in the 10th grade, he invited us, his close classmates, to his birthday. I remember that Ilham Aliyev's mother, the late Zarifa Aliyeva, greeted us. She was a very kind, warm-hearted woman. She welcomed us warmly and was very happy that her son's classmates had come to her house as guests. On that day, National Leader Heydar Aliyev himself also came to the birthday. He met and spoke with each of us individually. Then he left us alone. He said, “I have work to do,” and left, meaning he gave us freedom. We had a very good time. We played chess, billiards, and tennis. We also went for a walk. We talked, laughed, danced, and listened to music,” R. Hasanli stated.
According to his classmate, Ilham Aliyev was very active in all lessons while studying in secondary school. He did not shy away from the opportunity to engage in healthy debates with teachers on various questions: “He was interested in history and literature, and humanitarian fields in general. He also loved geography very much.”
Based on his observations, R. Hasanli stated that Ilham Aliyev has remained a caring and humble person, just as he was during his secondary school years: “At the same time, he is a person with a broad worldview and a great sense of humor. Ilham Aliyev has been able to retain the positive qualities of his adolescence and youth to this day. After he became a politician, other positive qualities also emerged: wisdom, foresight, leadership, and other character traits inherent in a politician.”
“His musical taste was excellent. He listened to both classical and pop music. At Ilham Aliyev's birthday then, we also saw his piano. He could play the piano too. In short, Ilham Aliyev is a versatile person. I believe we are fortunate to have a President like him.”
A.Gorkhmaz
