Sevil Aliyeva | |
|---|---|
Sevil Əliyeva | |
| Born | Sevil Aliyeva (1955-10-12)12 October 1955 (age 70) Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union |
| Alma mater | Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Spouse | Makhmud Mamed-Guliev |
| Parent(s) | Heydar Aliyev (father) Zarifa Aliyeva (mother) |
| Relatives | Ilham Aliyev (brother) |
Sevil Aliyeva (born 12 October 1955) is an Azerbaijani composer and the founder of Space TV. She is the daughter to the formerPresident of AzerbaijanHeydar Aliyev, and the elder sister to the incumbent presidentIlham Aliyev.[1]
Born inBaku in 1955 toHeydar Aliyev andZarifa Aliyeva,[2][3] Sevil started to learn music when she was 6 years old.[2] In 1982, when Heydar was appointedFirst Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union, the whole family, including Sevil and her younger brother,Ilham Aliyev, who was then studying atMoscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), moved toMoscow.[1]
She marriedMakhmud Mamed-Guliev,[2] who has been serving as theDeputy Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1993. They have a daughter, who frequently made phone calls toKremlin, where Heydar was working.[3] One day, she was invited to Kremlin to have tea with Heydar, and she went with Sevil.[3] Despite this, Sevil later revealed that her daughter could go there without her.[3]
Following the1993 coup, Heydar came to power and became the newPresident of Azerbaijan.[4] Sevil, who advocated for freedom of people, was not in favour of her father's ruling style.[4]
In 1998, Sevil left Azerbaijan and moved toLondon.[4] Since then, she rarely visits Azerbaijan; one of her visits was in 2003, when Heydar died.[4]
Following the death of Heydar, his son and Sevil's younger brother, Ilham, succeeded his presidency, although Sevil was not in favour of her brother.[5][4]
In 2009, several newspapers reported that Sevil was trying to join politics, in opposition to her brother.[5] She, however, denied the rumour.[5][4]