Polad Bulbuloghlu (; born February 4, 1945) is a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Azerbaijani singer,

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and diplomat. Bulbuloghlu became famous in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

with composing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

-influenced songs with heavy Azerbaijani folk influences in Azerbaijani and Russian languages. He also sang his own songs. Three of his songs became Songs of the Year and he received numerous prestigious awards in the Soviet Union. Bulbuloghlu is a lyrical tenor. In the late 1990s, despite having a huge success with a new version arranged by Paul Buckmaster of his old song ''Gəl Ey Səhər'' (''Come, Hey Morning!'') in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and sold-out concerts in Russia, Bulbuloghlu started a political career. He became the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia and member of the Parliament of Azerbaijan. In 2017, he was a candidate for the post of Director-General of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. He withdrew his candidacy on October 10 after getting only 2 votes in the first round of the election.

Biography

Bulbuloghlu was born Polad Murtuza oghlu Mammadov on February 4, 1945, in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan SSR. His father was Murtuza Rza oglu Mammadov (1897–1961), better known by sobriquet

Bulbul The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropic ...

(lit. "nightingale"), a famous Azerbaijani opera singer and a native of

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

, who exposed Polad to musical culture from an early age. His

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

-born mother Adelaida Mammadova (née Gasimova, 1922–2015), who was the director of the Bulbul Museum until her death, was the daughter of Rza Gasimov, son of an Azerbaijani merchant from

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, and his wife Ketevan who belonged to the Georgian noble Vezirishvili family. Polad studied the piano in a music school and then studied composing in the Baku Academy of Music, under Gara Garayev. By the age of 17 he composed several songs that were performed by professionals, as well as songs for his friend Muslim Magomayev. Bülbüloğlu's singing talent was also discovered on a trip to Moscow with Magomayev, where Bulbuloghlu recorded his own songs in the

Azerbaijani language Azerbaijani ( ; , , ) or Azeri ( ), also referred to as Azerbaijani Turkic or Azerbaijani Turkish (, , ), is a Turkic languages, Turkic language from the Oghuz languages, Oghuz sub-branch. It is spoken primarily by the Azerbaijanis, Azerbaij ...

. In his career, Bulbuloghlu combined modern music style with national Azerbaijani music to create a new musical stream in the Soviet Union. He toured the entire

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and performed around the world. In 1982, Bülbüloğlu became a National Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR. He participated in the Soviet television program and festival Song of the Year and won the first prize on four occasions. His songs were performed, among others, by Muslim Magomayev, Joseph Kobzon and Lev Leshchenko. In 1969, Bulbuloghlu became a member of the USSR Union of Composers and the USSR Union of Cinematographers. He composed music for over twenty feature films and had leading roles in several. Among others, he worked with the Russian director Eduard Smolny. Bulbuloghlu has a star at the Moscow Performers' Square, inaugurated in 2000. He received a doctorate of the

History of Art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

from the Azerbaijan National Academy of Culture and holds an honorary professorship in the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts. Polad's son, Teimur Polad oghlu Bulbul, born in 1975, is a musician in the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio and a Meritorious Artist of the Russian Federation.

Public career

Bulbuloghlu managed the Stage Ensemble of the Azerbaijan SSR (from 1976) and the Azerbaijan National Philharmonic Orchestra for several years (from 1987), and in 1988 became the Culture Minister of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1995, he joined the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. In 2006, Polad left the post of Minister of Culture and moved to Moscow, where he was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation. In 2017 Polad Bülbüloğlu ran for head of

, but dropped out of the race. On August 18, 2024, Polad Bulbuloglu announced that he was leaving the post of Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia. The artist and politician was elected member of the parliament, representing the cities of Aghdam, Khojavend and

( Nagorno-Karabakh region), where he spent his childhood.

Awards

*Kazakhstan – National Award of Peace and Progress (2010) – for special contribution to peace and friendship and resolution of cultural problems in the Turkish-speaking world * International Order of the Patrons of the Century (2006) – for extraordinary achievements in diplomacy *Russia – Order of Friendship (2005) – for development of cultural ties between Russia and Azerbaijan *Azerbaijan – Order of Independence (2005) – for development of Azeri culture *Georgia – Order of Honour (2002) * Song of the Year (1980 – ''Tell Your Eyes'', 1979 – ''Beloved Country'', 1978 – ''I am in Love'', 1977 – ''Will Be Delighted by the Sun Again'') *Azerbaijan – For service to the Fatherland Order (2nd class) *Azerbaijan – Heydar Aliyev Order (2020)

Titles

* People's Artist of Turkmenistan (2017) * Om emerit al Republicii Moldova (2005) * People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR

Filmography

Songs

* Şən Azərbaycan (1970) * Gəl Ey Səhər (Come, Hey Morning!)

References

External links

Polad Bulbuloghlu's biography, made by the UN.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polad Bulbuloghlu 1945 births Living people Ambassadors of Azerbaijan to Russia 20th-century Azerbaijani male actors Azerbaijani male film actors Diplomats from Baku Politicians from Baku 20th-century Azerbaijani male singers Azerbaijani composers Azerbaijani people of Georgian descent Musicians from Baku Members of the National Assembly (Azerbaijan) Recipients of the Istiglal Order Baku Academy of Music alumni Soviet Azerbaijani people Folk-pop singers Honored Art Workers of the Azerbaijan SSR Recipients of the Azerbaijan SSR Lenin Komsomol Prize People's Artiste of Azerbaijan Russian-language singers of Azerbaijan