Vafa Guluzade facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vafa Guluzade
Vəfa Quluzadə |
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| Foreign Policy State Advisor for Azerbaijan President (1990-1999) | |
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| Born | 21 December 1940 Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR |
| Died | 1 May 2015 (aged 74) Baku, Azerbaijan Republic |
| Spouse | Leyla Ahmadova |
Vafa Guluzade (born December 21, 1940 – died May 1, 2015) was an important person from Azerbaijan. He was a diplomat, which means he represented his country in talks with other nations. He was also a political scientist, someone who studies how governments and politics work. He was very good at conflict resolution, helping to solve disagreements between groups or countries.
From 1990 to 1999, Mr. Guluzade worked as a special advisor to the President of Azerbaijan. His job was to help the president make decisions about how Azerbaijan should interact with other countries around the world.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Vafa Guluzade was born in Baku, which is the capital city of Azerbaijan, on December 21, 1940. At that time, Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union.
He finished high school in 1958. Then, he went to Azerbaijan State University and graduated in 1963. After university, he worked as an editor for Azerbaijani radio. He helped prepare news and programs about other countries.
Later, he went to Moscow in Russia. He studied at a special institute that focused on the Middle East. For three years, he learned a lot about the region. In 1968, he earned a master's degree for his studies on modern Egyptian literature.
Diplomatic Career and International Work
Vafa Guluzade started his career as a diplomat in 1969. He began working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. He was first an attache, which is a junior diplomat. Later, he became a second secretary at the Soviet Embassy in Egypt.
After working in Cairo, Egypt, he moved back to Moscow. He joined the Middle Eastern Department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Mr. Guluzade spoke Russian and Arabic very well. Because of this, he helped translate for important leaders. He interpreted for presidents like Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Hafez Assad of Syria. He also translated for Soviet leaders such as Leonid Brezhnev.
Mr. Guluzade was involved in important international talks. He took part in negotiations after the Six-Day War between Arab countries and Israel in 1973-1974. He also attended many conferences about the Palestinian problem. These included meetings in Geneva and Istanbul.
Working with President Heydar Aliyev
Vafa Guluzade first met Heydar Aliyev, who would later become the President of Azerbaijan, in 1973. At that time, Mr. Aliyev was leading a Soviet group visiting Egypt. In 1975, Heydar Aliyev invited Mr. Guluzade to Baku. He offered him a job as the head of the Department of Culture.
While working in Baku in the 1980s, Mr. Guluzade continued his studies. He took courses by mail from an academy in Moscow. In 1987, he was asked to return to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He then worked as a counselor at the Soviet Embassy in Algeria.
Advisor to the President of Azerbaijan
From November 1990 to October 1999, Vafa Guluzade served as a key advisor. He advised three different presidents of Azerbaijan on foreign policy. These presidents were Ayaz Mütallibov, Abulfaz Elcibey, and Heydar Aliyev. During this time, he was always a member of the State Security Council.
He was the main person representing President Aliyev in talks with Armenia. These talks were about the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. He also joined Azerbaijani groups at many important international meetings. These included summits of the OSCE in cities like Helsinki and Budapest. He also attended meetings at the United Nations and NATO.
Mr. Guluzade was a well-known expert on countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. He especially knew a lot about Russia and the Caucasus region. He wrote many articles in newspapers about Russia's policies in the Caucasus.
He believed that Azerbaijan should work closely with Western countries. The United States Department of State even called him "the architect of pro-Western orientation of Azerbaijan." In 1999, he suggested that NATO military bases should be placed in the Caucasus. This idea caused a lot of discussion and strong reactions from countries like Russia and Iran.
In October 1999, Vafa Guluzade left his job as foreign policy advisor. This was because he had different ideas about important foreign policy issues than the leaders at the time. After leaving, he started a group called the Caspian Policy Studies Foundation.
In 2000, the U.S. Government invited Mr. Guluzade to speak. He gave lectures at famous universities like Harvard University and Columbia University. He also visited the White House and the U.S. Department of State. He wrote two books about Russia, the Caucasus, and the conflicts in those areas.
Vafa Guluzade was fluent in Azerbaijani, Russian, Arabic, and English.
Personal Life
Vafa Guluzade was married to Leyla Ahmadova. They had a daughter and a son. Sadly, his son passed away in 2010. He also had four grandchildren.
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Vafa Guluzade
