Azerbaijan: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Azerbaijan conventional short form: Azerbaijan local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi local short form: Azarbaycan former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic etymology: the name translates as "Land of fire" and refers to naturally occurring surface fires on ancient oil pools or from natural gas discharges |
|---|---|
| Government type | presidential republic |
| Capital | Baku (Baki, Baky)
Baku (Baki, Baky)
geographic coordinates: 40 23 N, 49 52 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | 66 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular);rayons: Abseron, Agcabadi, Agdam, Agdas, Agstafa, Agsu, Astara, Babak, Balakan, Barda, Beylaqan, Bilasuvar, Cabrayil, Calilabad, Culfa, Daskasan, Fuzuli, Gadabay, Goranboy, Goycay, Goygol, Haciqabul, Imisli, Ismayilli, Kalbacar, Kangarli, Kurdamir, Lacin, Lankaran, Lerik, Masalli, Neftcala, Oguz, Ordubad, Qabala, Qax, Qazax, Qobustan, Quba, Qubadli, Qusar, Saatli, Sabirabad, Sabran, Sadarak, Sahbuz, Saki, Salyan, Samaxi, Samkir, Samux, Sarur, Siyazan, Susa, Tartar, Tovuz, Ucar, Xacmaz, Xizi, Xocali, Xocavand, Yardimli, Yevlax, Zangilan, Zaqatala, Zardab cities: Baku, Ganca, Lankaran, Mingacevir, Naftalan, Naxcivan (Nakhichevan), Saki, Sirvan, Sumqayit, Xankandi, Yevlax |
| Independence | 30 August 1991 (declared from the Soviet Union); 18 October 1991 (adopted by the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan) |
| National holiday | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918) |
| Constitution | several previous; latest adopted 12 November 1995; amended 2002, 2009 (2016) |
| Legal system | civil law system |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent: yes dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Ilham ALIYEV (since 31 October 2003) head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 4 November 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub EYYUBOV (since June 2006); note - RASIZADE was previously prime minister from 20 July 1996 to 4 August 2003 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for unlimited terms); election last held on 9 October 2013 (next to be held in October 2018); prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly; note - a constitutional amendment approved in a September 2016 referendum will expand presidential terms from 5 to 7 years when it formally takes effect election results: Ilham ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV (YAP) 84.5%, Jamil HASANLI (National Council of Democratic Forces) 5.5%, other 10% note: OSCE observers concluded that the election did not meet international standards |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms) elections: last held on 1 November 2015 (next to be held in November 2020) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - YAP 72, CSP 2, Democratic Reforms 1, Social Democratic Party 1, Social Prosperity 1, Unity Party 1, Democratic Enlightenment 1, Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front 1, Motherland 1, Civil Unity 1, Great Undertaking Party 1, National Renaissance Party 1, independent 41 |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chairman, vice chairman, and 23 judges in plenum sessions and organized into civil, economic affairs, criminal, and rights violations chambers); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis; judges appointed for 10 years; Constitutional Court chairman and deputy chairman appointed by the president; other court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis to serve single 15-year terms subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (replaced the Economic Court in 2002); district and municipal courts; |
| Political parties and leaders | Civil Solidarity Party or CSP (Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI) Civil Unity Party or CUP (Sabir HAJIYEV) Democratic Enlightenment (Elshan MUSAYEV) Democratic Reforms Party (Asim MOLLAZADE) Great Undertaking (Fazil MUSTAFA) Musavat (Arif HAJILI) Popular Front Party (Ali KARIMLI) Motherland Party or AVP (Fazail AGAMALI) National Renaissance Party Social Democratic Party (Ayaz MUTALIBOV) Social Prosperity Party (Khanhusein KAZIMLI) Unity Party (Tahir KARIMLI) Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (Gudrat HASANGULIYEV) Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party or YAP (President Ilham ALIYEV) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Club-125 (Ilhamia RZAYEVA) Ireli Youth Movement (MirHasan SEYIDOV) National Council of Democratic Forces (Jamil HASANLI) N!DA Youth Movement (Turgut GAMBAR, Zaur GURBANLI) Positive Change Youth Movement (Bakhtiyar HAJIYEV) Republican Alternative or REAL (Ilgar MAMMADOV (in jail)) |
| International organization participation | ADB, BSEC, CD, CE, CICA, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EITI (compliant country), FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Elin SULEYMANOV (since 5 December 2011) chancery: 2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (1) (202) 337-3500 FAX: (1) (202) 337-5911 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert CEKUTA (since 16 February 2015) embassy: 111 Azadlig Prospekti, Baku AZ1007 mailing address: American Embassy Baku, US Department of State, 7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050 telephone: (994) (12) 488-3300 FAX: (994) (12) 488-3320 |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in the red band; the blue band recalls Azerbaijan's Turkic heritage, red stands for modernization and progress, and green refers to Islam; the crescent moon and star are a Turkic insignia; the eight star points represent the eight Turkic peoples of the world |
| National symbol(s) | flames of fire; national colors: blue, red, green |
| National anthem | name: "Azerbaijan Marsi" (March of Azerbaijan) lyrics/music: Ahmed JAVAD/Uzeyir HAJIBEYOV note: adopted 1992; although originally written in 1919 during a brief period of independence, "Azerbaijan Marsi" did not become the official anthem until after the dissolution of the Soviet Union |