Azeri president appoints his wife as vice president

Record ID: 276101

  • Title: Azeri president appoints his wife as vice president
  • Date: 21st February 2017
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (FILE) (RUSSIAN POOL) VARIOUS AZERI PLANE ARRIVING IN MOSCOW / FLAGS / ILHAM ALIYEV AND MEHRIBAN ALIYEVA WALKING DOWN AIR STAIRS
  • Embargoed: 7th March 2017 15:57
  • Keywords: Azerbaijan Ilham Iliyev Mehriban Aliyev Mehriban Aliyeva wife vice-president reform
  • Location: BAKU AND QUSAR REGION, AZERBAIJAN / PARIS, FRANCE / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • City: BAKU AND QUSAR REGION, AZERBAIJAN / PARIS, FRANCE / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Azerbaijan
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00464GS2MF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    PLEASE NOTE: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT IS MUTE
    Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday (February 21) appointed his wife Mehriban to the role of first vice president.
    The decree announced by Aliyev and posted to the presidential website did not specify what duties 52-year-old Mehriban Aliyev would have in her new post although the constitution states that the first vice president will deputise for the president while he is out of the country.
    The posts of vice president and first vice president - a more senior position - were introduced last year after a constitutional referendum cleared the way for the president's powers to be devolved if he becomes incapacitated.
    The referendum also extended the presidential term from five to seven years. An earlier vote had scrapped term limits for the presidency.
    The other vice-presidential post remains vacant.
    European institutions and rights bodies accuse the Azeri authorities of curbing free expression. Azeri officials deny these accusations.
    Ilham Aliyev came to power in 2003, replacing his father Heydar, who ruled the oil-rich country since 1993.
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