AZERBAIJAN'S FIRST LADY: FINDING HER OWN VOICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000093

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2018
TAGS: AJ PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN'S FIRST LADY: FINDING HER OWN VOICE

Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse, per 1.4 (b, d).


1. (C) Summary: The Azerbaijani Government is making a new
effort to present First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva as a
significant political leader in meetings with senior U.S.
officials. The Foreign Ministry, including her uncle who
serves as Deputy Foreign Minister, is helping to shape this
new image. Rumors that she is forming a separate political
party persist, although the President said cryptically that
there should be no "opposition" in a family. The First
Lady's soft spoken demeanor and lack of political experience
suggest that it will be challenging to portray her as a
national political leader and eventually as a possible
successor to her husband. End Summary.


2. (C) The following observations were made during four
separate interactions with First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva
between January 9-20 during the visits of three Congressional
delegations.

Partner or Competitor
--------------


3. (U) On December 23, President Ilham Aliyev wrote of his
wife in the State-run newspaper, "Mehriban is my great
supporter . . . In a family, the man and woman are people who
share similar principles of life and moral values.
Therefore, I think that there should be no "opposition" in a
family in the radical sense of the word. Mehriban and I
share the same views on many issues . . . A woman is a woman,
even if she is the President's wife, and she is a guarantor
of peace, harmony and love in the family."


4. (C) The denial that opposition exists within the First
Family is perhaps a reference to press speculation that the
First Lady is launching her own political party that would be
distinct from her husband's ruling party. Aliyeva was
elected to the Parliament in 2005 from the ruling Yeni
Azerbaijan Party. In the Azizbeyov constituency, she won 92
percent of the vote in an election that was rife with
irregularities. Over dinner with Senator Lugar, she spoke
proudly of the work that she is doing in her constituency
building schools and meeting with constituents. With a wry
smile, the President told Lugar that his wife received
hundreds of letters from all over the country from citizens
pleading for her to represent their district in Parliament
because they knew she is well-connected and could benefit her
constituency.

Boosting Her Political Credentials
--------------


4. (C) In past years, members of Congress and senior
Administration officials have not requested meetings with the
First Lady. Nor did they in this case. The Azerbaijani
Ambassador to Washington, Yashar Aliyev (no family relation
to the President, although considered to have good access),
lobbied hard for the meetings both with Congressional staff
in Washington and in person with the members when they
arrived in Baku. Charge witnessed a conversation between
Ambassador Aliyev and the First Lady in which he had to
convince her to take a meeting with the co-chair of the
Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus. Moreover, Ambassador Aliyev
persuaded the First Lady to join a dinner with the President
and Senator Lugar when it became apparent that it would be
hard to add an additional separate meeting with her into the
Senator's packed schedule.


5. (C) For the two office calls with members of Congress,
there was extensive TV and print media coverage of the
meetings. Aliyeva is the chairperson of the Azerbaijan-U.S.
inter-parliamentary group within the Parliament. These
meetings were clearly intended to show her activity and
outreach as a member of Parliament, as distinct from her
responsibilities as First Lady and the President of the
Heydar Aliyev Foundation. They also reinforce the view that
she is being groomed as a significant national political
figure, and even perhaps a potential successor to her husband.

Presentation Style and Image
--------------


6. (C) The First Lady is soft-spoken and made introductory
remarks in English but several times consulted with her
husband or her uncle, former Azerbaijani Ambassador to the
U.S. and current Deputy Foreign Minister Hafiz Pashayev, to
try to follow the comments made in English by members of the
U.S. delegation. She never used the professional
interpreter, although he remained in the room. Embassy
observers note that the First Lady has made impressive
progress over the last 18 months in improving her English,
including the delivery of speeches in English without
reading. Former Ambassador Pashayev responded to the
majority of questions from the members of Congress, and even
occasionally cut off the First Lady when she started to
respond. While appearing annoyed, she did not attempt to
reinsert herself after having been cut off by her uncle. In
one case they argued about a historical fact during the
discussion, but she eventually deferred to her uncle.


7. (C) Aliyeva appeared ill at ease in discussing the work
of the Parliament and anything to do with the U.S. political
system. When asked about her role in the parliament, she
discussed her position as the chair of the U.S.
inter-parliamentary group and the importance of advocating
for her parliamentary district. Aliyeva has been
conspicuously absent from the Parliamentary sessions
monitored by the Embassy. Long-time political observers
believe that her irregular attendance is the primary reason
the GOAJ has not allowed the Parliament to publish voting
records, as requested by a public interest group.


8. (C) On the United States, she seemed interested in the
progress of the U.S. presidential campaign. She was
surprised to find out from her uncle that Hillary Clinton is
a Democrat. When a member of Congress asked Aliyeva about
Azerbaijan,s upcoming presidential election, she had to turn
to her uncle for confirmation of the date and seemed
surprised to learn that the election would be held in
October. She brightened up when asked about the Heydar
Aliyev Foundation and was able, in confident English, to
provide statistics and details about the Foundations support
for schools, cultural activities, and health care.


9. (C) She received the delegations in the lavish conference
room on the upper floors of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation
Building. The building is decorated with an 8-story atrium,
gilded ceilings, and dual glass elevators. In one of the
meetings, the delegation expressed surprise that the First
Lady wore a black, low-cut lacy black cocktail dress and
enormous jeweled earrings. Aliyeva typically wears such
attire to official GOAJ events. The President describes her
as "the most beautiful woman in Azerbaijan." She is renowned
for her fashions and her apparent periodic plastic surgeries.
When Turkish President Gul visited Baku in November,
Azerbaijanis were buzzing about Aliyeva's photo with the
First Lady of Turkey. Mrs. Gul wore a headscarf and Aliyeva
wore a racy dress with a bare back.

Biographical Details
--------------


10. (C) The First Family's oldest daughter, Leyla Aliyeva,
lives in Moscow with her ethnic Azerbaijani Russian-based
businessman husband. The First Lady said that her eldest
daughter and the First Lady herself were unhappy that she was
in Moscow. Leyla Aliyeva had been studying in London and the
transition to Moscow had been difficult. The First Lady
added that she misses her daughter and wishes that she and
her husband would return to Baku. The Aliyevs also have a
17-year old daughter, Arzu Aliyeva, and a 10-year old son,
Heydar Aliyev.


11. (C) The President and First Lady met in Moscow when she
was a first year medical student at the Sechenov Moscow State
Medical Institute. She graduated there in 1988 with a
medical degree and worked as a researcher on eye diseases for
four years in Moscow. In 2004, Aliyeva became head of the
Heydar Aliyev Founation. Also in 2004, she received the
title of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for her work to protect
and develop Azeri folk literature and music. She was also
made an Islamic Education, Science, and Cultural Organization
(ISESCO) Goodwill Ambassador in 2006 (the first woman to
receive this post) for her work on bridging the "clash of
civilizations."


12. (C) Comment: Since her election to parliament in 2005,
conventional wisdom in Baku has increasingly held that
Mehriban Aliyeva and her side of the family are taking over
the dominant role in Azerbaijan,s political and economic
affairs once held by the powerful "Yeraz" group from "Western
Azerbaijan." While the Pashayev family definitely has taken
on a more prominent role in Azerbaijan,s commercial affairs,
the First Lady's soft spoken demeanor and lack of experience
in political affairs suggest that it will be challenging to
portray her as a national political leader and eventually as
a possible successor to her husband.
DERSE