Portrait of Ilham Aliyev
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Ilham Aliyev

President of Azerbaijan, 2003 to present

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Succeeded his father Heydar Aliyev and has ruled oil-rich Azerbaijan for more than two decades, retaking Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023 amid criticism of his record on press freedom and human rights.

Ilham Aliyev sits in the left-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: slightly state-led and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority, strongly nationalist on nation and strongly strength-first on war and peace.

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Where Ilham Aliyev sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomySlightly state-led
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureStrongly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationStrongly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentLeaning growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsSlightly institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionSlightly secular
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismStrongly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Ilham Aliyev

Otto von Bismarck Chancellor of Germany, 1871 to 189099%Chiang Kai-shek Leader of the Republic of China, 1928 to 197599%Abdel Fattah el-Sisi President of Egypt, 2014 to present99%Park Chung-hee President of South Korea, 1961 to 197998%Charles de Gaulle President of France, 1959 to 196998%Suharto President of Indonesia, 1967 to 199898%Catherine the Great Empress of Russia, 1762 to 179697%Ferdinand Marcos President of the Philippines, 1965 to 198697%

People furthest from Ilham Aliyev

Emma Goldman Russian-born anarchist and writer, 1869 to 19402%Leo Tolstoy Russian novelist and moral thinker, 1828 to 19102%John Lennon British musician and peace activist, 1940 to 19802%Murray Bookchin American social theorist, 1921 to 20062%

Political views closest to Ilham Aliyev

MilitarismTreats military strength and martial values as central to national life.99%GaullismA French tradition of national independence, a strong presidency and a leading role for…98%BonapartismAuthoritarian rule by a popular leader who claims to embody the nation, with plebiscites…96%State capitalismUses a strong state to steer a market economy toward rapid growth, often limiting…95%

Read more about Ilham Aliyev

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Biographies of Ilham AliyevBooks on militarism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.