Kamaladdin Heydarov | |
---|---|
Kəmaləddin Heydərov | |
![]() Heydarov in 2011 | |
Minister of Emergency Situations | |
Assumed office 6 February 2006 | |
President | Ilham Aliyev |
Preceded by | office established |
Chairman of State Customs Committee | |
In office 1995 – 6 February 2006 | |
President |
Heydar Aliyev Ilham Aliyev |
Succeeded by | Aydin Aliyev |
Personal details | |
Born | Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR | 15 July 1961
Parent |
|
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | Ministry of Emergency Situations |
Rank | Colonel General |
Kamaladdin Heydarov Fattah oglu ( Azerbaijani: Kəmaləddin Heydərov Fəttah oğlu; born 15 July 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician and businessperson serving as the Minister of Emergency Situations.
He has close ties to the ruling Aliyev family in Azerbaijan. [1] BBC News described Heydarov as among "the wealthiest and most powerful in the governing elite" in Azerbaijan. [2] His family owns a network of offshore companies. [3] He chaired the State Customs Committee from 1995 to 2006.
Heydarov was born on 15 July 1961 in Nakhchivan City, Azerbaijan. [4] He has graduated from Baku State University with a degree in Geography. [5]
In 1992, he left Azerbaijan for Uzbekistan and opened several business firms. [6]
He founded a company called Gilan in the 1980s, but the details about the company are opaque. [2] [3]
President Heydar Aliyev appointed Heydarov as Chairman of the State Customs Committee in 1995. [7] In this role he was widely reported to have extracted bribes from companies importing goods to Azerbaijan. [8] According to a 2010 leaked US diplomatic cable, Heydarov accrued "massive wealth" as chairman of “an agency that is notoriously corrupt, even by Azerbaijani standards.” [1]
On February 6, 2006 Heydarov was appointed the Minister of Emergency Situations, a newly formed ministry. [6] [9]
BBC News described Heydarov as among "the wealthiest and most powerful in the governing elite" in Azerbaijan. [2]
Heydarov was implicated in the Daphne Project investigation into secretive investments across Europe and the Middle-East through a Maltese bank. [1]
Heydarov is married. He and his wife have two children, Nijat and Tale. The sons own a network of offshore companies that have invested tens of millions of pounds in Europe. [3]
Heydarov has composed songs under the name Kamal. His latest album is called Sənə güvəndiyim dağlar ( Azerbaijani: The mountains to lean on). His songs have been performed by famous singers such as Flora Kerimova, Ilhama Guliyeva, Aygun Kazimova, Zulfiyya Khanbabayeva. [10]