The Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy named after

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Az ...

(, russian: Азербайджанское высшее военное училище имени Гейдара Алиева) is an educational institution of the

Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces ( az, Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri) were re-established according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Armed Forces from 9 October 1991. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) had originally formed ...

. In order to be admitted into the academy, candidates have to be between the ages of 17 and 19 and have completed secondary school education.

Background

The predecessor institution to the current academy was the Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School (BVOKU), which was founded on 29 November 1939 as one of many military academies of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. By 1951, the developing school was ranked 6th place among the best infantry schools in the USSR. The school was disbanded in 1991 as a result of the

fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. Among the notable alumni of the BVOKU are former

Defense Minister of Armenia The Defence Minister of Armenia () is the head of the country's Ministry of Defence, who is charged with the political leadership of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The position was originally created in 1918 and was re-established in January 1992 ...

Seyran Ohanyan Seyran Musheghi Ohanyan ( hy, Սեյրան Մուշեղի Օհանյան; born 1 July 1962) is an Armenian general and politician currently serving as a deputy in the National Assembly of Armenia. He served as Defence Minister of Armenia from 1 ...

, Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan

Zakir Hasanov Zakir Asker oghlu Hasanov (; born 6 June 1959) is an Azerbaijani politician and colonel general who has been the Minister of Defence of Azerbaijan since 2013. Early life and education He was born on 6 June 1959 in the Astara District. He gradu ...

and Armenian military leader during the Karabakh War

Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan Arkady Ivani Ter-Tadevosyan ( hy, Արկադի Իվանի (Հովհաննեսի) Տեր-Թադևոսյան; russian: Аркадий Иванович Тер-Тадевосян; May 22, 1939 – March 31, 2021), also known by his nom-de-guerre Kom ...

Development

The BVOKU was replaced the following year by the Baku High Joint Commanders School, which was created to meet the Azerbaijani military's needs. Some of the first graduates of the school took part in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War until it ended in the summer of 1994. Since 1997, the admission and teaching standards have been implemented in accordance with contemporary education standards. President

on 20 August 2001 renamed the school to its current name. His son, President Ilham Aliyev added the honorary name of

to the school's full name in March 2004, following his father's death just 3 months before. By presidential decree of 24 December 2015, the

Azerbaijan Higher Naval Academy The Azerbaijan Higher Naval Academy () is an educational institution of the Azerbaijani Naval Forces. It is part of the education system of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan. It was originally founded in 1939 In Soviet times, it was called the ...

and the Azerbaijan High Military Aviation School were abolished and transferred to the Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy with the establishment of the corresponding faculties there.

Present day

Graduates of the school are awarded a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

the rank of '' leytenant'' upon their commission into the armed forces.

Student life

In August 2019, the academy

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...

, led by Colonel Ekhtibar Aliyev, took part in the

Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo The Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival is an annual military music event and military tattoo held in Moscow on Red Square. Participating in the festival are Russian and foreign military bands, folk groups, and honor guard units o ...

, representing Azerbaijan for the first time. In 2020, it was among the units that took part in the Baku Victory Parade in honor of the victory in the

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbai ...

Alumni

Shukur Hamidov Shukur Nariman oğlu Hamidov ( az, Şükür Həmidov) (1 April 1975 – 22 October 2020) was an Azerbaijani officer, national hero and colonel of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. He was son to Nariman and Shargiya Hamidov. He was an enlisted memb ...

National Hero of Azerbaijan The National Hero of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan milli qəhrəmanı) is the highest Hero (title), national title in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The title was named on 25 March 1992, and the "Qizil Ulduz" Medal awarded as a sign of receiving this t ...

Samid Imanov Samid Imanov ( az, Samid Gülağa oğlu İmanov, 1981 – 1/2 April 2016) was an Azerbaijani officer, major of Special Forces of Azerbaijan, National Hero of Azerbaijan. Biography Samid Imanov was born in 1981 in Sovetabad (nowadays Hasanabad ...

, member of the

Special Forces of Azerbaijan The Special Forces of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan Xüsusi Təyinatlı Qüvvələri) is a military unit of the Republic of Azerbaijan. History It was established in April 1999 under the Ministry of Defense. The formation of the unit was attended b ...

Ilgar Mirzayev Ilgar Anzor oglu Mirzayev (; 8 May 1973–2020) was an Azerbaijani military officer, National Hero of Azerbaijan, and colonel serving in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces until his death during the July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes. He also had ...

, colonel of artillery serving in the 3rd Army Corps until his death during the

July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes The July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes began on 12 July 2020 between the Armenian Armed Forces and Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Initial clashes occurred near Movses in Tavush Province of Armenia, and Ağdam in Tovuz District of Azerbaija ...

. * Anar Novruzov, the "Father of AGS-17", who was killed in the

2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War,, IPA: ʰɑroɾjɑ pɑtɛɾɑzm az, Dördgünlük müharibə April War,; or April clashes, began along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh ...

. * Hasan Hasanov, resident of the

Kalbajar District Kalbajar District ( az, Kəlbəcər rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Lachin, Khojaly, Agdam, Tart ...

killed in July 2014.

Rectors of the School

* Major Ivan Kovalev (1992–2002) * Lieutenant General Heydar Piriyev (2002–2009) * Colonel Mirzali Yusifov (5 November 2013–?) *Major General Fuzuli Salahov (?–Present)

References

{{CIS Military Academies Educational institutions established in 1992 Military academies of Azerbaijan 1992 establishments in Azerbaijan