Today, exactly 36 years separate us from January 20, 1990. This number may seem small for a million-year history, but for the fate of the Azerbaijani people, it is immeasurably heavy and burdened.
Every year, every day, every moment of these 36 years was etched into our memory with oppression, darkness, pain, blood, losses, and at the same time, with resistance, struggle, and victory.
It was as if time stretched, years grew heavy, history compressed, and these 36 years became equivalent to a thousand years.
In this period, we witnessed oppression and recognized betrayal. We experienced despair and learned resistance.
We observed moments when the state was shaken, and instances when the people remained unbroken.
And finally, we realized a truth: it is not by chance that the people and the state are saved from hardships.
Only a national figure can save this nation.
*****
There are people who perceive life only as their own comfort, cannot see beyond their own shadow, and live their fate within their own interests.
There are people who live for fame, strive to be popular, and breathe with applause.
And there are people who do not find the reason for living within themselves. They breathe with the fate of their people, intertwine their life with the life of the nation. They discover themselves in the pain and joy of the people.
Sometimes it seems to you that such people do not even see themselves when they look in the mirror; they look at you, they look at the people, they see the face of the Motherland.
What does it mean to be the greatest national Azerbaijani in the world?
Everyone may have a different answer to this question, and that is natural.
But what is certain is that being national is not measured by a chair. Being national is not recognized by protocol language, nor is it valued by noise and clamor.
The greatest national Azerbaijani is one who carries a heavy, yet honorable burden on their shoulders.
To carry that burden, physical strength is not enough; spirit is needed, conscience is needed.
Because physical strength also originates from the spirit, it comes after it.
A national figure does not live for themselves; they know that building one's comfort upon the pain of the nation is a moral betrayal.
A national figure does not look at the people's sorrow from the outside. They enter into that sorrow, turning it into their own destiny.
The greatest national Azerbaijani approaches their past with deep respect, accepting it as their own history. They view history as a living memory, living with it.
They find no peace without completing the unfinished aspirations of national ancestors, considering it their duty to bring to an end the seemingly incomplete tasks of history.
Respect for elders is evident in their behavior. They do not interrupt an elder's words, knowing that those words contain the wisdom of centuries and truths that have passed the test of time.
They sincerely share their knowledge and experience with the youth, showing them the right path. They consider guiding the youth's faith in the correct direction as sacred as the state itself.
The greatest national Azerbaijani loves their people unconditionally. This love expects no return; it is self-sacrifice, patience. This love is sometimes silence, sometimes endurance, and sometimes bearing all the burden alone.
The greatest national Azerbaijani does not view people as mere numbers. They consider every individual, everyone, a living part of the Motherland.
The greatest national Azerbaijani becomes a father to every martyr's father, carries the mother's tears in their heart, and considers every martyr their own child.
The greatest national Azerbaijani is the one most rejoiced by the liberation of Shusha. This joy is the mending of our history's broken back, the end of centuries of longing. In the tears of that joy, alongside victory, speak the souls of the martyrs, the prayers of mothers, and the breath of the land.
When walking hand-in-hand with the little girl who lost her parents in the Ganja terror, that hand does not merely hold a child's hand. That hand is the hand of the nation's thousands of fatherless hopes, taking their burden of destiny upon its shoulders.
The greatest national Azerbaijani is a fighter; they do not remain silent against those who oppose their state. They do not merely hold the flag above their head; they cherish it, they bear its responsibility.
They protect their language so well that you would not hear a single foreign word in their speech. They view customs and traditions as inviolable, sacred entities. They protect the Motherland as the apple of their eye.
In your opinion, who possesses this character, this spirit, this vigor, this strength listed above?
The answer to this question is not far off; this person is Ilham Aliyev, the Leader of World Azerbaijanis.
Ilham Aliyev is the greatest national Azerbaijani in the world, THE MOST NATIONAL FIGURE OF MODERN AZERBAIJAN.
He is the living embodiment of national thought, a leader who has taken historical responsibility upon his shoulders.
His national spirit comes from his family.
His father, Great Leader Heydar Aliyev's pride in being Azerbaijani was a life stance. This stance was passed from one generation to another.
Heydar Aliyev is the founder of the Azerbaijani state. And founding a state means being the greatest national figure.
Ilham Aliyev's mother, Zarifa Aliyeva, was the measure of dignity for a national Azerbaijani woman. Science and love for humanity had become the spiritual pillars of this family. In fact, she was the invisible comrade-in-arms of Heydar Aliyev, who carried the sorrow of a nation within himself.
Ilham Aliyev's wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, is a lady of national character, national identity, national thought, and national spirit from head to toe.
She is the comrade-in-arms who is always by the side of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who dedicates his life to the state and the people.
Mehriban Aliyeva's father, Arif Pashayev, and mother, Aida Imanguliyeva, grew up in families with a national spirit.
Ilham Aliyev's children are national youth who call the world to "Justice for Khojaly," immortalize the founders of the Republic, and create films like "Eternal Mission" and "The Last Meeting" that carry our history to the present day.
Perhaps God has brought together such bearers of national thought in Ilham Aliyev's family. Both the past and the present... The future is also secured with national identity.
Ilham Aliyev restored the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan at the cost of lives. This path was not easy. On one side there was blood, prohibition, on the other side there was pressure from the world's giant countries. But the will, patience, and faith in Ilham Aliyev returned our historical lands to us. This path was, even now, a "to be or not to be" path that many of us could not comprehend.
Ilham Aliyev's sentence "I fulfilled my father's will" was not a simple statement. This sentence was the laying down of a heavy burden that hung from the shoulders of a nation.
Ilham Aliyev does not speak of a thousandth of what he has done.
He does not exaggerate his services.
He serves silently.
What is known is that this silence will remain as the loudest voice in history.
This service will be remembered as long as the people endure, and will be rediscovered every day.
This service will become a lesson in statehood for future generations.
Yes, being the greatest national Azerbaijani in the world is a great responsibility, a clear conscience. It is to restore the territorial integrity of one's state, to open a path to historical lands.
It is to free the country from the influence of foreign ideologies.
But it is to do all this silently.
The greatest national Azerbaijani does not speak of what they have done, does not exaggerate their services.
Like Ilham Aliyev...
Ilham Aliyev is the Greatest National Azerbaijani in the World.
*****
Today is January 20, 2026.
Today, the greatest national Azerbaijani in the world speaks in Davos. He addresses the world, holds meetings, and speaks as the victorious leader of a victorious state.
But he went to Davos passing through Martyrs' Alley. Because for a national figure, the path always begins from the same place.
It begins from history, from the spirit of the Martyrs, from the pain of the people.
And no matter where a national figure speaks, no matter which tribune in the world they stand on, the soil of Martyrs' Alley is always before their eyes.
This is also the culmination of 36 years.
