Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife Mehriban Aliyev as the First Vice President of the country.
The position was created after a constitutional referendum in September, 2016.
According to Azerbaijan’s constitution, the First Vice President takes over the country’s presidency if the president is unable to perform the duties.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has appointed his wife Mehriban as his deputy, further entrenching the power of the family in what one opposition leader denounced as a first step to establishment of an absolute monarchy.
Ilham Aliyev assumed the presidency of the oil and gas exporter in 2003 after the death of his father Heydar, whose rule stretched back into Soviet times.
Mehriban herself hails from one of the most wealthy and influential families in the country, the Pashayevs.
Ilham Aliyev's hold on power was tested in 2016 when low prices for Azerbaijan's main export, oil, hit the currency and pushed up prices for staple goods like flour. However, oil prices have recovered and the currency has stabilised.
Mehriban Aliyev, 52, is a member of parliament and a UNESCO goodwill ambassador. But her most prominent role until now has been as head of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, and her official title will be First Vice President, a post that was created last year following a referendum on constitutional changes.
The revised constitution does not specify what duties the first vice president has.
European institutions and rights bodies have accused the Azeri authorities of curbing free expression and preventing fair elections.
Azeri officials deny those accusations, saying Aliyev's rule has brought prosperity and stability to a country located in an area, the southern Caucasus, that has seen several conflicts since collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Azerbaijan: Know More- Capital: Baku
- Code: +994
- Currency: Azerbaijani manat
- Official language: Azerbaijani
- Continent: Asia, Europe
