Elchin Ilyas oglu Afandiyev (Azerbaijani: Elçin İlyas oğlu Əfəndiyev) is an Azerbaijani writer, professor and politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan[1] from 1993 to 2018.

Elchin Afandiyev
Elçin Əfəndiyev
Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan
In office
1993–2018
PresidentHeydar Aliyev (1993–2003)
Ilham Aliyev (2003–2018)
MinisterSurat Huseynov (1993-1994)
Fuad Guliyev (1995–1996)
Artur Rasizade
Ilham Aliyev (2003)
Artur Rasizade (2003–2018)
Personal details
Born (1943-05-13) 13 May 1943 (age 81)
Baku, Azerbaijan

Early years

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Afandiyev was born to the family of famous Azerbaijani writer Ilyas Afandiyev on 13 May 1943 in Baku. Since his early childhood, Elchin Afandiyev was surrounded by literature and an academic environment. Azerbaijani folklore and world literature played a significant role in Afandiyev's future career. He wrote his first novel when he was 16 years old, which was published in Azərbaycan gəncləri (Azerbaijani Youth) magazine in 1959. He completed his secondary education in 1960 and studied at Baku State University, graduating in 1965 with a degree in philology. In 1968, he completed his post-graduate studies at the Nizami Institute of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, writing a 500-page dissertation.[2]

In 1965, he published a collection of novels called Min gecədən biri (One of thousand nights). In the following years, nearly 100 books of Afandiyev were translated and published in English, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Arabic, Persian, Mandarin, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Croatian, Georgian, Lithuanian, Moldovan, Turkmen, Uzbek, Kazakh, Tajik, Serbian and other languages. There have been about five million copies sold worldwide.[citation needed]

Afandiyev’s play, Citizens of Hell, premiered in London in 2013.[3]

Political career

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During Soviet rule, Afandiyev was a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR. Since 1993, he has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan.[4] As a Deputy Prime Minister, he supervises various sectors of government activity such as sports and cultural relations.[5][6] He has also chaired the Vətən cultural organization, which focuses on cultural ties with other countries. He is also a member of several government committees and is a member of Education Committee under the President of Azerbaijan.

Awards

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Efendiyev was awarded with Istiglal Order for his contributions to the development of Azerbaijani literature by President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev on 29 May 2003.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "CIA. Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments". Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  2. ^ "Elçin Əfəndiyev. 24 yaşında 500 səhifəlik namizədlik dissertasiyası yazdım" [Elchin Afandiyev. I wrote a 500 page dissertation at the age of 24]. Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  3. ^ Idayatova, Sabina (31 July 2013). "Elchin Afandiyev's Citizens of Hell has London premiere". AzerNews. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  4. ^ Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. United Kingdom: Europa Publications Limited. 2002. p. 119. ISBN 1-85743-137-5. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  5. ^ "Baku hosts CoE sports ministers meeting". Azernews. 2010-09-23. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  6. ^ "Days of the Tatarstan culture take place in Baku". Tatar-inform. 2008-10-06. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  7. ^ "E. İ. Əfəndiyevin "İstiqlal" ordeni ilə təltif edilməsi haqqında AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI PREZİDENTİNİN FƏRMANI" [Order of the President of Azerbaijan Republic on awarding E.I. Afandiyev with istiglal Order of Azerbaijan Republic]. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2011-01-20.