Hero of the Patriotic War Medal ( az, «Vətən Müharibəsi Qəhrəmanı» medalı) is a medal of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

. The medal was created on the occasion of Azerbaijan being the victor 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 ...

. Its recipient also received the distinctive title of

Hero of the Patriotic War The Hero of the Patriotic War ( az, Vətən Müharibəsi Qəhrəmanı) is the highest title in Azerbaijan. The title was created by the law "Regulations on the title of "Hero of the Patriotic War" of the Republic of Azerbaijan" dated 26 November ...

History

On 11 November 2020, the

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of Azerbaijan. The Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and foreign policies", ...

, Ilham Aliyev, at a meeting with wounded Azerbaijani servicemen who took part in the

, said that new orders and medals would be established in Azerbaijan, and that he gave appropriate instructions on awarding civilians and servicemen who showed "heroism on the battlefield and in the rear and distinguished themselves in this war." He also proposed the names of these orders and medals. On 20 November 2020, at a plenary session of the Azerbaijani National Assembly, a draft law on amendments to the law "On the establishment of orders and medals of the Republic of Azerbaijan" was submitted for discussion. The Hero of the Patriotic War Medal was established on the same day in the first reading in accordance with the bill "On the establishment of orders and medals of the Republic of Azerbaijan" on the occasion of Azerbaijan being the victor in the

Awarding

On 9 December, the

, Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to award 83 servicemen, 34 of them posthumously with the Hero of the Patriotic War Medal. The awardees included

Hikmat Mirzayev Hikmat Izzat oglu Mirzayev () is an Azerbaijani military officer. He is a lieutenant general of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the commander of the Special Forces, and participated in the 2016 Nagorno–Karabakh clashes and the 2020 Nagorno-K ...

, the commander of the special forces, Ilham Mehdiyev, the deputy chief of the State Border Service, as well as the officers

Namig Islamzadeh Namig Sarafruz oglu Islamzadeh ( az, Namiq Sərəfruz oğlu İslamzadə; born 1974), is an Azerbaijani military officer, major general serving in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. He serves as a garrison commander in the "N" military unit of the Aze ...

, Kanan Seyidov, and

Zaur Mammadov Zaur Sabir oghlu Javanshir ( az, Zaur Sabir oğlu Cavanşir) is an Azerbaijani military officer, major general serving in the special forces of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. He had taken part in the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes and 2020 Nagorno ...

Status

The Hero of the Patriotic War Medal is awarded for "military merits in the complete defeat of the enemy, as well as high professionalism in the management of military operations or personal heroism in the restoration of the state borders of Azerbaijan". According to the bill, the medal's senior award is the

Labor Order The Labor Order ( vi, Huân chương lao động) is an award conferred or posthumously conferred by the Government of Vietnam on individuals and conferred on collectives that have recorded outstanding achievements in labor, creativity or natio ...

, while its junior award is the

Qizil Ulduz Medal The Qizil Ulduz Medal (Gold Star) ( az, "Qızıl Ulduz" medalı) is an award that honors a National Hero of Azerbaijan. The award was established by Abulfaz Elchibey (the former President of Azerbaijan) on March 25, 1992 (by Decree No. 201). Th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hero of the Patriotic War Medal Orders, decorations, and medals of Azerbaijan 2020 establishments in Azerbaijan Awards established in 2020 Heroes of the Patriotic War