Karim Tofig oglu Valiyev ( az, Kərim Tofiq oğlu Vəliyev; born 9 February 1961) is an Azerbaijani military officer, serving as the

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

in 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 ...

. He is the Chief of the General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the First Deputy Minister of Defence of Azerbaijan. He had served as the head of the Main Department for Personnel of the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan on 23 July 2021. Valiyev had taken part in the

2020 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 Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

Early life

Karim Tofig oglu Valiyev was born on 9 February 1961, in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, the capital of the Azerbaijani SSR, which was then part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. In 1982, he graduated with honours from the

Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School The Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School (BVOKU) was one of the military academies of the USSR. It trained military personnel in a number of specializations. It was located in Baku in the Azerbaijan SSR. History On November 29, 1939, the s ...

. Valiyev served in the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

as a cadet platoon commander, assistant head of the training department, and the senior assistant to the head of the training department from 1982 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994, he studied at the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Military service

Since 1992, Karim Valiyev has been serving in the

. During the years of service, he held the positions of the deputy head of the training department, the deputy brigade commander, the brigade commander, the deputy front commander, the deputy minister of defence for combat operations, the commander of a military formation, the head of the Military Scientific Center, and the head of the Defence Planning Military Strategy. Karim Valiyev took part in the

. Then, on 10 December, Valiyev led the victory parade in Baku held in the occasion of Azerbaijan's victory in the war. On 23 July 2021, Karim Valiyev was appointed as

Chief of General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Silahlı Qüvvələri Baş Qərargahı) is the military staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration ...

Personal life

Karim Valiyev is married and has two children.

Awards

* Valiyev was awarded the

Azerbaijani Flag Order Azerbaijani Flag Order ( az, Azərbaycan Bayrağı Ordeni) is an award presented by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. History and status Azerbaijani Flag order was among several medals and orders, requested to be reviewed and created ...

in 1994, by the order of the then

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", ...

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 Aze ...

. * Valiyev was awarded the For the Motherland Medal in 2005, by the order of the

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

. * Valiyev was awarded the For Military Merit Medal in 2012, by the order of the President Aliyev. * Valiyev was awarded the

Zafar Order The Zafar Order, or the Victory Order ( az, «Zəfər» ordeni), is an order of Azerbaijan. The order was created on the occasion of Azerbaijan being the victor in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. History On 11 November 2020, the President of ...

in 2020, by the order of the President Aliyev.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valiyev, Karim 1964 births People from Baku Azerbaijani generals Azerbaijani military personnel of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war Living people Recipients of the Azerbaijani Flag Order