The activities of First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva are based on her love for the people. She has won universal love for her boundless affection for the Motherland and the people. She is one of the greatest benefactors of her native Azerbaijan, the author of many projects designed for the happy future of the people. To bear the name of the first lady with dignity, to always uphold the position of Azerbaijan in the world, to take care of everyone, young and old, to strive to resolve problems in society with strong will and courage ... In a nutshell, it is an extremely responsible and tense field of activity... All this is the meaning of first lady Mehriban Aliyeva’s life.

AZERTAC is examining the main aspects characterizing the public and political activities of First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva.

Actively promoting Azerbaijan in the international arena and enriching politics with such universal values as kindness and mercy, Mehriban Aliyeva serves the progress of the Motherland, strives to develop culture, education, healthcare and sports in her country, and cares about its future.

The Almighty can favor a person, grant them a wonderful destiny, but a person can achieve absolute perfection through love, through the prayers of the people. It is no coincidence that the goal of serving the Motherland and the people remains unchanged for Mehriban Aliyeva. If we look at the ideological struggle for the strengthening of our state carried out by the First Vice- President of Azerbaijan, whose life principles are dignity, mercy, intelligence and kindness, and indeed at everything she does, we can clearly see the scale of this service accompanied by innovations in the life of the country and its people. At the heart of her assertive and multifaceted activity, conditioned by such high moral qualities as humanism, mercy and nobility, lies precisely the dignified service to the people. “The place and destiny of every person in life is determined by history. So there are no big or small roles. Only your personal and conscious responsibility allows you the opportunity to write your own book of life. In this book, everyone embodies themselves as the creator or destroyer of their personal life and the world,” says Mehriban Aliyeva, who went down in the history of Azerbaijan with her endless love for the people, the immense scale of her creative work and charity. She has determined her life path and field of activity herself by choosing the path of kindness. To be close to those in need of help is her life credo. Having created a social and philosophical basis in this area in Azerbaijan by her charitable activities, she has also outlined the main contours of this noble path for future generations. She can often be seen next to people in need of help and care, especially children. Quite often she spends holidays with them. People suffering from various diseases, children deprived of parental care, internally displaced persons expelled from their homes as a result of the Armenian occupation see Mehriban Aliyeva as their savior, and their hopes come true.

Over the past years, Mehriban Aliyeva has made great efforts to achieve national goals. “I try to implement everything I talk about,” says the first lady, whose most important performance criterion is the implementation of what has been said. The projects implemented under her leadership are aimed at shaping up the young generation committed to national and spiritual ideals, humanistic and humanitarian values, expanding the dialogue between civilizations, deepening cooperation with influential international institutions, and communicating Azerbaijani realities to the world community. In a short time, Mehriban Aliyeva won the image of the most businesslike woman in the world, created the ideal image of a modern Azerbaijani woman and became a leading personality of the women's movement in our country.

“Strength, the source of a woman's strength is such seemingly simple and eternal feelings as kindness, love and mercy.” These words by Mehriban Aliyeva confirm again that the multifaceted activity of the first lady, who is guided by the idea of doing good and helping others, is aimed at bringing about positive changes in the life of society. She says, “Over the years, as new ideas and plans appear before us, the nature of our goals also changes, but our main idea, the idea of serving the Azerbaijani people, remains and will remain unchanged.”

Guided by this idea and goal, Mehriban Aliyeva writes her book of life, enriching it with bright pages every year. The numerous large-scale projects implemented on the initiative and with the support of Mehriban Aliyeva, who has been heading a Foundation that bears the name of great leader Heydar Aliyev since 2004, are received with great approval not only in the country but also throughout the world. It was on her initiative and with her direct participation that a number of large-scale projects in the field of education, healthcare, culture and other spheres have been implemented. The projects implemented under her leadership have made an important contribution to the preservation of our spiritual, historical and cultural heritage. The numerous charity events have turned the Heydar Aliyev Foundation into an address of kindness and mercy, have earned it great authority in the world.

The election of Mehriban Aliyeva in 2004 as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and in 2006 as ICESCO Goodwill Ambassador is a historic achievement, a significant event for Azerbaijani culture. This meant the opening of new horizons for the promotion of Azerbaijan's rich tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the world. Under her patronage, within the framework of UNESCO, important projects have been implemented in the field of protecting cultural heritage, promoting intercultural dialogue, and developing education and other areas. As a Goodwill Ambassador, she also carries out tireless activities to communicate to the world the historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani realities. Mehriban Aliyeva’s activities are aimed not only at promoting the cultural and spiritual heritage of Azerbaijan on a global scale, but also at implementing such universal ideas as peace, stability, dialogue of civilizations, multiculturalism in the civilized world, and consolidation of efforts in these areas. Thanks to the high organizational skills of the first lady, our country has successfully hosted prestigious events, which is important from the point of view of promoting Azerbaijani realities.

“In everyday activities, one should not forget about philanthropy, mercy, mutual respect and kindness. On the contrary, guided precisely by these spiritual values, one can achieve the highest victories, rise to the highest peaks. Let me assure you that I will try to build my future activities on these principles. I will put the interests of our country and our people above everything, will try to serve Azerbaijan with dignity.” These are the words of Mehriban Aliyeva from her first speech as First Vice- President. The appointment of Mehriban Aliyeva as First Vice-President of Azerbaijan on 21 February 2017 is regarded as a logical result of her multifaceted activities and organizational skills.

First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, who undertook a noble mission and new obligations related to the achievement of national goals for the economic development of Azerbaijan and the well-being of our people, dedicated the first events in her activity to the implementation of the humanistic mission. She focused her attention on the social problems of the part of society that needs help and support most of all, refugees and internally displaced persons, and on improving their living conditions. The First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, keeping the construction of new settlements and residential areas for people of this category in her spotlight, provided great public support for this issue. The past years have shown that the numerous projects implemented under the leadership of Mehriban Aliyeva stand out for their uniqueness and originality and are comprehensive in nature. The fact that Mehriban Aliyeva has skillfully and creatively done such a huge job in a short time evokes deep respect in society.

Mehriban Aliyeva's multifaceted activity is highly appreciated both in Azerbaijan and internationally. Her love for people evokes reciprocal feelings. She has won over people’s love with her simplicity and kindness, and this love attracts the attention of the whole world. The world admires Mehriban Aliyeva’s soul full of love for people, praises the global projects implemented with her blessing and support.

Great and unique people are carriers of a high mission from birth to the end of their life. The life of such people is dedicated to tireless and continuous service for a great goal and eternal struggle. Mehriban Aliyeva has won over people’s love primarily with these principles. They are underpinned by a very simple idea: to do good.

Some of the numerous international prizes and awards the first lady of Azerbaijan has so far been decorated with are related to the work she has done as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO and ICESCO and to her contributions to intercultural dialogue. In addition, Mehriban Aliyeva has been awarded numerous international awards in recognition of her contributions to the promotion of culture and international cultural exchange, the development of science, health, sports, education, technology and ecology, her active participation in public, social and cultural life, her invaluable services in promoting our culture in the world, her comprehensive support for the preservation of the global cultural heritage, her commitment to the principles of social justice and humanism. But Mehriban Aliyeva believes that her greatest reward is people’s love, faith and trust.