 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
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name:Baku (Baki, Baky)geographic coordinates:40 23 N, 49 52 E time difference:UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time:+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
66 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular);
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 1996, 2002, 2009 (2009)
Legal system:
civil law system
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
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) cabinet:Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly elections:president elected by popular vote for a five-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 election results:Ilham ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV 84.5%, Jamil HASANLI 5.5%, other 10% note:OSCE observers concluded that the election did not meet international standards
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)elections:last held on 7 November 2010 (next to be held in November 2015) election results:percent of vote by party - YAP 45.8%, CSP 1.6%, Motherland 1.4%, independents 48.2%, other 3.1%; seats by party - YAP 71, CSP 3, Motherland 2, Civil Unity 1, Democratic Reforms 1, Great Creation 1, Hope Party 1, Justice 1, Social Welfare 1, Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front 1, independents 42
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):Supreme Court (consists of the chairman, deputy chairman, and at least 24 judges in plenum sessions); 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; judge tenure NA; 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:
Azerbaijan Democratic Party or ADP [Sardar JALALOGLU]Azerbaijan Popular Front or AXCP [Ali KARIMLI] Civil Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI] Civil Unity Party [Sabir HACIYEV] Classical Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan [Mirmahmud MIRALI-OGLU] Democratic Reforms Party [Asim MOLLAZADE] Great Creation Party [Fazil Gazanfaroglu MUSTAFAYEV] Hope (Umid) Party [Igbal AGAZADE] Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAILOV] Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat HACIYEVA, Avaz TEMIRKHAN] Motherland Party [Fazail AGAMALI] Musavat (Equality) [Isa GAMBAR] Open Society Party [Sulhaddin AKBAR] Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Araz ALIZADE] Social Welfare Party [Khanhusein KAZIMLI] Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party [Gudrat HASANGULIYEV] Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party or YAP [President Ilham ALIYEV]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
EL Movement [Eldar NAMAZOV]
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 Richard L. MORNINGSTAR (since 20 July 2012)embassy:111 Azadlig Prospecti, 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) 488-3310
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 is an Islamic symbol, while the eight-pointed star represents the eight Turkic peoples of the world
National symbol(s):
flames of fire
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 |