On October 20, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Hasan Hasanov turns 85.
According to Modern.az, former Minister of Education, Professor Misir Mardanov shared his memories related to Hasan Hasanov. The ex-minister spoke about the events that took place during the tumultuous period of the 1990s. We present Misir Mardanov's memoirs:
May 6, 1992... At that time, I was working as the Deputy Minister of Public Education (now the Minister of Science and Education). I remember well, Minister Rafiq Feyzullayev called me and instructed me to immediately go to the front of the Council of Ministers (now the Cabinet of Ministers), where a picket was being held against the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister) Hasan Hasanov, and to dissuade anyone I knew from participating in this action.
"Where am I, and where is interfering with a picket?" I thought, wanting to object, but it was impossible to contradict a stern and somewhat self-satisfied minister like Feyzullayev, so I agreed and left.
Indeed, I was a supporter of staying out of political processes; although as an intellectual I was concerned about the difficult situation of the country's fate, I did not want to join uncertain political processes in a very chaotic situation and create further confusion. I preferred to do my work and fulfill my official duties.
At that time, various political actions were held in different parts of the city; Baku resembled a boiling cauldron. A little earlier, on February 26, the Khojaly genocide had occurred, and in the wake of that tragedy, in early March, Ayaz Mutallibov and parliamentary speaker Elmira Gafarova were forced to resign. Professor Yaqub Mammadov was elected Chairman of the National Assembly, and the position of head of state was also entrusted to him.
The Popular Front was stubbornly fighting to come to power, and the political actions of these people, enthusiastically joined by rabble-rousers, often turned into disorganized campaigns. One of the factors that turned this struggle into chaos was the split within the Popular Front; separate leaders and new parties had emerged, and each of them had their own presidential candidate, supporters, and "plans."
On the other hand, supporters of Yaqub Mammadov, who had just "tasted" power, did not want to share this "pleasure" with anyone and were pushing him towards the presidential chair. Ayaz Mutallibov and his "comrades-in-arms" had not yet lost hope, waging a secret and open struggle with the desire that "perhaps they would be reinstated."
To be fair, in the chaos of May 1992, Heydar Aliyev's name was not mentioned; if it was, it was within a very limited scope. History had not yet spoken its final word; some of the people and intellectuals hoped that everything would be put in order with Abulfaz Elchibey's coming to power, some believed that political figures like Etibar Mammadov could rectify the situation, while another part trusted Yaqub Mammadov as an intellectual due to his professorship.
In such a situation, the majority of the people and the country's intellectuals saw Hasan Hasanov, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, as a more realistic candidate. People of this category, with sound judgment, preferred Hasan Hasanov over others due to his life path, political experience, image, and high moral qualities. This talented individual, who had been the secretary of the Komsomol Committee for his group, faculty, and institute (now Azerbaijan Technical University) during his student years, was elected a delegate to the XIV All-Union Komsomol Congress held in Moscow in 1962, at the age of 22, as a representative of Azerbaijani students. Everyone knew that Hasan Hasanov, who had been a member of several youth organizations in Azerbaijan and the USSR since a young age, had served as the chairman of the Baku City Student Council from 1960 to 1963, an instructor in the Baku City Komsomol Committee, secretary of the Yasamal District Komsomol Committee, head of a department in the Central Committee of the Republican Komsomol Committee, and other positions, and as an instructor in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan (now the Presidential Administration) from 1967-1969. In 1969, he was appointed to the position of responsible organizer in the Central Committee of the All-Union Komsomol in Moscow, which was a great trust at that time.
Hasan Hasanov, one of the brightest representatives of the trust Heydar Aliyev showed in young and talented cadres after coming to power in Azerbaijan, returned to his homeland in 1971 at the personal initiative of the Great Leader, and worked as an instructor, then head of a department, and deputy head of a department in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan.
At the age of 31, in 1971, he served as the first secretary of the Sabail District Party Committee in Baku, in 1978 as the first secretary of the Sumgayit City Party Committee, and from 1979 to 1981 as the first secretary of the Ganja City Party Committee.
I remember well that in Ganja, where he led for only two years, he gained deep respect as both a builder and a patriotic intellectual. He changed the face of ancient Ganja with new constructions, restored its historical monuments, and brought back its classical architectural style. To this day, everyone remembers that Hasan muallim was given the nickname "Brick Hasan" for his architectural activities in Ganja. With the help of the Great Leader, he managed to obtain additional funds from the All-Union budget to rebuild Ganja's ancient architectural monuments, buildings, and walls with bricks, and had a Brick Factory built in Ganja. Furthermore, during the years when Soviet ideology, so to speak, "cut both ways," although he could not change the name of the city called "Kirovabad" (the name of Ganja from 1935-1989 in honor of Sergey Kirov, one of the former leaders of the USSR), he divided the city into two parts, naming them Kapaz and Ganja districts, thereby "irritating" the memory of a people condemned to forget the word "Ganja."
This person's reputation among the people was very high; it became clear to everyone during 1981-1990, when he served as Secretary for Ideological Affairs, Secretary for Construction Affairs, and then Secretary for Economic Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, that he was both "a man of the people" ideologically and perfectly knowledgeable in construction and economics. Precisely because of these qualities, Hasan muallim, appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was considered a "very dangerous candidate" in the eyes of his rivals, despite having no personal ambitions, unlike them...
On that same May 6, 1992, a group of people was sent in front of the Cabinet of Ministers, and a picket was organized with slogans like "Hasan Hasanov, resign!" and "Leave your post!" However, this picket was very unsuccessful, and people who had not come by their own conviction dispersed after a few justified objections, including my own suggestion. Seeing the situation, Yaqub Mammadov decided to use his powers differently; on that date, May 6, 1992, he signed a decree on the official establishment of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UN, and from that day, Hasan Hasanov became the first Permanent Representative of the yet-to-be-established Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UN. He was relieved of his position as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, sent to New York to organize the work of the Mission, and thus, the most "dangerous rival" was neutralized.
Incidentally, I note that Hasan Hasanov's appointment as our Permanent Representative to the UN, even if mistakenly sent to New York in May 1992, resulted in the adoption of the famous UN Security Council Resolutions 822 on April 30, 1993, and 853 on July 29, regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, which were of great political significance and remain in memory as events that entered Azerbaijani history.
History has shown that just as it is impossible to stop the raging floods of mountain rivers, it is also impossible to stop powerful personalities, truth, or justice. However, the quick dispersal of that picket, several conversations I heard that day, some truths I learned about Hasan Hasanov after returning to work and becoming interested in him, his hasty dispatch to New York, and other events created a great admiration in my heart for this person. Fortunately, although I had the chance to meet and communicate with him many times in later stages of my life, it always seems to me that my first contact with Hasan Hasanov took place on May 6, 1992.
In fact, my first close encounter with him happened entirely by chance 11 years before this event, on September 1, 1981. At that time, classes started on that day, and as the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, I arrived almost before everyone else, busy solving problems related to the start of the new academic year at the university. During the solemn event, speeches, and congratulations, which I could not attend due to the heavy workload, I went up to the fourth floor, where the classrooms were located. They said that the Secretary of the Central Committee was also participating in this event and would later come upstairs to observe the classes. To be honest, although he was 40 years old at the time, I very much wanted to see Hasan Hasanov, a famous figure among the people as the first secretary (now Executive Head) of Sabail (then 26 Baku Commissars) district, Sumgayit, and especially Ganja.
I also want to note that in the late 70s and early 80s, feelings of national pride and patriotism, which had begun in the 60s, existed very prominently within everyone, even if secretly. Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh's poem "Gulustan," Shikhali Gurbanov's activities related to Novruz holiday, the mysterious death at 38 of a Central Committee secretary named Nazim Hajiyev, who stood out for his national sentiments, and other similar events had significantly ignited the love for homeland and people in the country. Let me say that Hasan Hasanov was also on that "people's list," and time showed that the people's predictions are never wrong. During his tenure as secretary for ideological affairs, he took national patriotic intellectuals of Azerbaijan – Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh, Khalil Rza Uluturk, Mammad Araz, and others – "under his wing," maintained personal friendships with them, had bans on the publication of their poems and books and their appearances on air lifted, and presented them with high awards when appropriate. Such an attitude, undoubtedly, took place with the consent of the head of state, but Hasan Hasanov also secretly carried out what Heydar Aliyev could not openly do, overcoming the ruthless prohibitions of the era and, consequently, the political system.
I remember that when the former USSR collapsed, the most crowded rallies and the sharpest waves of protest occurred in Azerbaijan. Sociological research centers of that time noted that patriotic feelings among the people of our country were significantly higher than in other republics. Despite all the deprivations, political turmoil, the created Karabakh problem, refugees from Western Azerbaijan, and economic difficulties, Azerbaijan was the first republic to declare its independence. Sometimes I think that one of the reasons for our people's high sensitivity in national issues was Hasan Hasanov, his work, his courageous steps, and his dedication.
There were still 7-8 years left until the aforementioned events, it was 1981, but Azerbaijan was preparing for a new era with the services of people like Hasan Hasanov. Everyone knew this; they knew that despite the tragic fates of Shikhali Gurbanovs, Nazim Hajiyevs, and Heydar Huseynovs, Hasan Hasanov, who feared nothing, was now fulfilling that mission in the government. That's why the people called him "Turkic Hasan" rather than "Brick Hasan." My desire to see this "Turkic," "patriot," "nationalist" Hasan up close had overcome all my other feelings, and I stood in the foyer of the fourth floor, waiting for him. Finally, as Rector Faiq Bagirzadeh, "partkom" Gurban Bayramov, Vice-Rector Teymur Valiyev, and several others ascended the stairs, I immediately spotted Hasan Hasanov among them, with his black hair combed back, thick glasses, and smiling face, and I did not take my eyes off him until he passed by me. Perhaps the rector or someone else did not correctly understand my admiring gaze, but I could not hide my admiration for this great personality, who at 40 had managed to build a monument in people's hearts, nor did I hide it... Because, as I got to know him better, my admiration only grew; it is impossible not to love this person who, despite graduating from the Technical University, defended his candidate and doctoral dissertations in history, specifically the history of the people, wrote numerous books on the history, culture, and traditions of Turkic peoples, and truly loved his homeland more than his own life.
As I reflect on Hasan muallim's rich life path, another memory comes to mind. In the snowy and frosty months of November-December 1988, Armenian Dashnaks, with the help and support of the Russian-Soviet army, expelled all our compatriots living in Western Azerbaijan, including our Qaraqoyunlu valley and our native Salah village, from their ancestral lands. In this regard, Safaya Mammad qizi Hasanova, who worked as the Kolkhoz chairman in Salah at that time, recounted that in November 1988, Ordinyan, the chairman of the Ijevan District Executive Committee, invited her to the district center and told her, "Safaya khanum, the situation is very tense, we do not want there to be any dead or wounded among the people of Salah village, so you must evacuate the people from the village within 3 days." Safaya khanum asked, "What about the people's livestock and household items?" Ordinyan replied, "We will evacuate the people with specially allocated buses, and as for household items, we need to think about that." Soon after, in the middle of the night, buses were sent to the village, organized by the district Internal Affairs Department, and the population, unable to take any belongings from their homes, was forcibly loaded onto buses and taken to the city of Gazakh.
In the first days, most of the village's population had to spend the night in Gazakh at the homes of relatives, friends, and acquaintances. Safaya khanum recounts that she met Murad Ashurov, who was then serving as the first secretary of the Gazakh District Party Committee. She informed him of the situation and said, "The people want to go directly to Karabakh from here, please help us." Murad Ashurov said that this issue could be resolved with the consent of the Azerbaijani leadership. With great difficulty, he established a telephone connection between me and Hasan Hasanov, who was then serving as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I conveyed the people's wish to him. Hasan Hasanov, a wise personality and a great patriot, listened to me carefully and, taking into account the desire of the displaced people, agreed to our going to Karabakh. Murad Ashurov helped us and, by contacting the leaders of neighboring districts of Azerbaijan, organized our relocation to Karabakh. Vehicles were allocated, and not only our village but all Western Azerbaijanis who had been forced to flee to Gazakh at that time set off in the direction of Karabakh. When we approached Ganja, they stopped us and said that the republic's leadership did not agree to our relocation to Karabakh. We had to settle near Ganja, in what is now Goygol district. One might think that if Hasan Hasanov's word had been followed then, and if we had not encountered the objection of Ayaz Mutallibov, who, as we later learned, wanted to get permission from Moscow, and if the displaced people had been settled in Karabakh, perhaps the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, which later brought us so much trouble, would not have existed...
A special stage in Hasan Hasanov's rich life path was his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the most difficult times in the history of the Republic of Azerbaijan, when it was isolated from abroad and the intense phase of the Karabakh war was ongoing. Therefore, I want to speak about this separately. Hasan Hasanov's appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs by the Great Leader in 1993 was of strategic importance in terms of an experienced and intellectual personality leading diplomacy. During those difficult years, he personally led the establishment of diplomatic relations with a number of countries and the preparation of initial protocols defining Azerbaijan's foreign policy line. He skillfully managed difficult and responsible tasks such as the process of Azerbaijan's international recognition, the establishment of more active cooperation with organizations like the UN and OSCE, the opening of the first diplomatic missions in foreign countries, and bringing the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict to the international arena. In Hasan Hasanov's speeches and negotiations, his composure, rationality, diplomatic ethics, rhetorical skill, deep knowledge of history, and intellectual richness played a decisive role in establishing diplomatic relations. During his time as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as a highly experienced politician, he demonstrated professionalism in communication and was able to carry out very effective activities aimed at strengthening Azerbaijan's international position.
From 2004 to 2010, Hasan muallim served as Azerbaijan's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Hungary. Those years can also be called the renaissance period of Azerbaijan-Hungary friendship. During his ambassadorship, Hasan Hasanov did not merely strengthen diplomatic ties but also created a significant turning point in Azerbaijan-Hungary relations by combining scientific and cultural projects, book publications, media, and public initiatives. More than 60 Azerbaijani books, including the epics "Dede Korkut" and "Koroglu," multi-volume publications about Fuzuli, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, and Heydar Aliyev, were published in Hungarian and presented to major libraries. The organization of international conferences on the topic "Azerbaijan-Hungary: Dialogue of Cultures" was systematically carried out at Hasan Hasanov's initiative, and an Azerbaijani book corner was opened in the Scientific Library of Danube University, one of the major higher education institutions. He organized regular classical and folk music concerts, including mugham and symphonic music nights, numerous exhibitions featuring works by Azerbaijani artists, Azerbaijani musical instruments, national costumes, cuisine, and other cultural samples in Budapest's large concert halls and prestigious venues such as Central European University.
On this trip, from March 10 to 13, 2010, to participate in the Conference of Education Ministers of the Bologna Process member states, what I remember most and what astonished me was the design of our embassy. I had already been a minister for twelve years, and during my assignments in various countries, I always visited embassies, familiarizing myself closely with both the ambassador and the building representing our republic in that foreign country, as well as the conditions there. To be frank, and I hope no one will be offended, I have never seen the splendor, pomp, and conditions created for the presentation of the country and its people anywhere else as I did at the embassy in Budapest. It was as if you were in the most charming corner of Azerbaijan, in its most beautiful city, in front of its most enchanting landscape. At that time, there were still 10 years left until the liberation of Shusha, but it felt as if you were standing next to Shusha Castle, gazing at Jidir Duzu, or on the banks of the Hakari River... Hasan muallim had done everything possible: paintings, photos, albums, maps, visual aids, flags... I thought I was in the Azerbaijan History Museum, or in Gobustan, Yanardag, Ateshgah... How much love for the homeland a person can have!!!
Hasan Hasanov is not one of those people who only deal with the visible side of an issue, working, so to speak, "to throw dust in people's eyes." Even when he was ambassador in Hungary, just as when he was a leader in Ganja, this person dedicated his entire being to his position, directed all his energy towards this direction, and did everything possible. He invited Azerbaijani scientists to Budapest and directed them towards research on the kinship ties between the Hungarian and Azerbaijani peoples. Hasan muallim, who organized several scientific conferences, symposiums, and other events on this topic with the participation of renowned Turkologists from the Turkic world and Hungary, was able to form an opinion in Hungarian society, where various hypotheses existed about their etymologies, that they were more closely related to Turks than to Germans, Slavs, Romans, or Celts. This can be considered the most striking example of very intense work and sincere commitment to national values. Today, without any exaggeration, the participation of Hungary's head of state as an observer in meetings of Turkic states can be directly attributed to Hasan Hasanov's services during those years.
I am pleased to note that I witnessed similar events during my days in Poland from January 30 to February 3, 2013, to participate in an event of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The embassy was like a small Azerbaijan, and it seemed as if Poland had no neighbors, allies, or friends; its heart beat only for Azerbaijan. Everywhere there were Azerbaijani symbols, concerts, exhibitions, evenings, conferences; Azerbaijani scientists were engaged in studying Polish-Azerbaijani scientific relations, the historical ties and friendship between the peoples, the Polish environment where representatives of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic lived during their emigration, literary connections, and other issues. Samples of Azerbaijani literature were translated into Polish and donated to libraries, sold in bookstores, and in 2017, a monument titled "Heroes Fighting for the Independence of Poland and Azerbaijan" was unveiled in Warsaw, etc. All of this had only one reason – Hasan Hasanov was the ambassador in Poland at that time!
Incidentally, I should mention that while he was ambassador in Poland, in early 2011, he called me: "Misir muallim, they want to learn the Azerbaijani language in Polish universities (!!!), I need your help in preparing an 'Azerbaijani Language' textbook for students."
What could one say in response to such a noble endeavor? After all, we have embassies in dozens of countries around the world, and none of them want to learn the Azerbaijani language. How did it happen that suddenly there was interest in our language in Poland alone? He could have spent his days like others, holding three or four events a year, resting, visiting Poland's tourist attractions, but instead, he met with the Minister of Education there and university rectors, convinced them that teaching the Azerbaijani language was extremely important, and now he has called me, spent so much time, expended nerves, and is determined to implement what he said, ready for various responses. Why, after all? What else could one say to such a person:
- At your command, Hasan muallim!
I invited the head of the publishing department and other relevant individuals, and we sat down for a long discussion. I listened to suggestions for the book to be written in Polish, to cover all areas from the alphabet to our modern language and literature, and to be clear, understandable, as well as interesting and engaging. We reached a general decision. We found a specialist in Polish language from the University of Languages named Farida Safiyeva, and we confirmed her excellent knowledge of both Azerbaijani language and linguistics. Then we invited her and held an extensive discussion about the book with the specialists, and finally, after some time, the textbook was ready. We sent her to Warsaw with the books, and thus, thanks to Hasan muallim's dedication, our language began to be taught in Polish universities.
In 2018, while he was ambassador in Poland (at that time I was the director of the Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics), Hasan muallim called me and said that he had started new research related to Nasir al-Din Tusi and had uncovered very interesting facts. When I investigated support for this work from Baku, I saw that some work had been done and conferences held at the Institute you lead, which is why I called you.
Again, I was amazed by this person's diligence and patriotism and thought, "Oh, Hasan muallim, why do you need Nasir al-Din Tusi? Your specialty is engineering, your position is ambassador, and your doctoral work is on the philosophy of history. Where is Nasir al-Din Tusi, the astronomer and mathematician, and where is the philosophy of history, or the ambassadorship?!" Brother, just sit quietly and deal with the embassy, let us also live our lives... But Hasan Hasanov is not one of those people who stay within a framework and merely observe events. Every small success of the homeland is a huge source of joy for him, every personality is a beacon of hope that turns his heart into a mountain! Let alone prominent historical figures like Nasir al-Din Tusi! When he speaks, he passionately says, "If I don't do it, if you don't do it, who will wipe the dust off those who have remained in the shadows, those who have been forgotten, and introduce them to this nation? After all, the people have given us knowledge, authority, and created conditions for us to fulfill their hopes, to serve them, to reunite them with their unrecognized personalities who deserve worldwide fame!"
One of the issues he spoke about with passion is this: "I have been to many places in the world and seen how someone who is not worthy of pouring water on the hands of our geniuses has been praised so much and put on a pedestal, with streets, airports, museums, and statues named after them, their names included in textbooks, and advertised to the world as unparalleled, and society knows them not as they are, but as they are presented. We neither know our own personalities nor introduce them to the world..."
...We agreed that we would discuss this matter in detail when he came to Baku. After some time, he arrived, and together we went to meet Akif Alizadeh, the then-president of the Academy. Following Hasan muallim's detailed information based on scientific grounds and his iron-clad logical ideas regarding Nasir al-Din Tusi, we decided that a Center named after him should be established at the Academy, and Hasan muallim would be the head of that Center. To be honest, I did not expect such a great person, who had seen the ups and downs of the world, various positions, difficulties, and joys, to be so delighted by the initial agreement to open the Nasir al-Din Tusi Center. It was as if the world had been given to him; until we parted, he spoke wholeheartedly about Nasir al-Din Tusi's services and the work he planned to do through this Center to introduce him to the world. But as they say, "you count what you count, see what fate counts"... After Akif Alizadeh informed the Presidential Administration about our plans (it was necessary to get approval for opening staff positions, allocating a building, and other technical issues), Ramiz Mehdiyev, who had throughout his life "fought the shadow" of Hasan Hasanov precisely because of his national zeal, immediately expressed his objection upon hearing Hasan Hasanov's name, and flatly refused, saying, "Was Nasir al-Din Tusi the only one left for us to open a center for?!" With this, as they say, "the dreams we built," as in most cases, remained in our hearts due to the subjective attitude of an official.
To be honest, after some time, I completely forgot about that incident. Various events in work, family, and other areas of life gradually overshadowed the plans for that Center we wanted to create in connection with a great representative of our nation, and it was only 6 years later that I deeply regretted that the Center had not been opened. We had planned to hold the XI International Conference titled "Modern Problems of Mathematics and Mechanics," dedicated to Nasir al-Din Tusi, organized by the Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics on July 3, 2024. After placing the announcements and notifications in the press, a call came from Hasan muallim:
- Misir muallim, you are holding an event related to Nasir al-Din Tusi, but why aren't you telling me?
- Oh, Hasan muallim, this is a meeting of mathematicians, I didn't want to bother you.
Actually, I had forgotten his conversations related to Nasir al-Din Tusi, so it didn't even occur to me to tell Hasan muallim. On the other hand, I had thought that it would not be right to disturb this prominent personality, who was no longer working anywhere and living a quiet life in Baku, for such an event related to mathematics. It turns out he is not living a quiet life at all; he leads a quite intense life, spending all his days reading, writing, and doing something useful for his people.
- Misir muallim, there is no inconvenience at all; if you allow, I will also participate, and if possible, I might even give a speech.
- With great pleasure, Hasan muallim, please do come!
At the event held on July 3, besides me, the President of the Academy Isa Habibbayli, Corresponding Member of ANAS Aminagha Sadikhov, renowned scientists from Turkey and Uzbekistan, and others delivered speeches, and Hasan Hasanov also spoke. I want to confess a truth: the speeches of us scientists, who had prepared for these presentations for a long time and whose specializations were closely related, were one thing, and the speech of Hasan Hasanov, the diplomat, politician, historian-scientist, and builder, was another. With that speech, this person once again proved what a rich personality, a profound analytical thinker, a scholar with perfect knowledge, a patriot who deeply loves his people and homeland, and a talent with high oratorical skills he is. We all characterized Nasir al-Din Tusi as a mathematician-scientist, the pride of the nation (repeating each other a bit and using cliché sentences), while he spoke so interestingly, with scientific justifications, about the tradition of astronomy in Azerbaijan, Tusi's role in world science and cartography, as well as the great thinker's national origin, Tusi being a treasure of science with high intelligence that surpassed world science by several centuries with his high achievements and foresight, and the necessity of studying his scientific heritage and rich creativity more deeply, that we were all amazed.
It was as if he had never been a foreign minister, nor the head of Ganja, nor engaged in diplomatic activities, nor served as Prime Minister; as if he had dedicated his entire life to Nasir al-Din Tusi, researching and studying him, and now he was telling us what he had learned over many decades. But then, who wrote the books, each 300-500 pages long, such as "Diplomacy Under the Roar of Cannons" dedicated to Alimardan bey Topchubashov, "On the Road to the First Republic" reflecting the path to independence and the formation process of the first democratic republic in the history of Azerbaijan and the entire Muslim world, "Baku Tengrism Complex" comprehensively researching the Baku pagan complex, Baku Maiden Tower, and the rare rock carvings of Gobustan, "Alexander the Great and Atropates" on Atropates, the prominent statesman of ancient Azerbaijan, and his cooperation with Alexander the Great, "Baku Maiden Tower" deciphering Baku, the Maiden Tower, and numerous toponyms and anthroponyms, and "Memories of a Brilliant, Charismatic Personality" dedicated to National Leader Heydar Aliyev, and many other numerous and very substantial scientific works?! When did he write them?! How did he manage to accomplish all this?!
It is easy to speak of patriotism, but very difficult to live it through actions. Hasan Hasanov was one of those who chose this difficult path – he worked for his homeland throughout his life, not on stage, but behind the scenes. It has been rightly said that "patriotism is not toasting to the nation's honor at drinking parties or dancing to the tune of 'Karabakh'," but to do something for the Homeland. Looking at his life path, one can see a destiny different from millions. He did not follow a stable and smooth, so to speak, "straight-line, constant-speed" path like most people; in one lifetime, he was sometimes a builder, sometimes an engineer, sometimes an ambassador, sometimes an economist, sometimes a Prime Minister, sometimes a Foreign Minister, sometimes the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UN, sometimes an Executive Head, sometimes a Secretary of the Central Committee, and sometimes a forgotten intellectual... All this diversity can be united by love for the Homeland and dedication...
Today, at 85 years old, Hasan Hasanov, working tirelessly with youthful enthusiasm, is the representative from Azerbaijan to the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States. Just as 60-70 years ago, he lives today with noble feelings and great aspirations – the unification of Turkic peoples on the path of common ideals and goals is one of his most sacred wishes, and he believes this wish will come true in the coming decades. We also wish that he himself conveys this news to our people on his jubilee, which will be celebrated 15 years from now!
One could write books of articles about Hasan muallim, talk for hours, and neither would you get tired, nor bored, nor would the topic end! However, I want to conclude this writing, and in the end, I quote a line from the People's Poet Jabir Novruz regarding this person, who is included in the Golden Fund of our history: "Appreciate people while they are alive..."
