Azerbaijan’s Leader Names His Wife as 1st Vice President

Azerbaijan’s Leader Names His Wife as 1st Vice President
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva watch the last minutes of the Formula One Grand Prix of Europe at the Baku Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 19, 2016. AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev
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BAKU, Azerbaijan—Azerbaijan’s president on Tuesday appointed his wife as the first vice president of the ex-Soviet nation—the person next in line in the nation’s power hierarchy.

Ilham Aliyev, 55 named his wife Mehriban, 52, to the position created after a constitutional referendum in September. Mehriban, who married her husband when she was 19, graduated from a medical university. She has served previously as a lawmaker and headed a charity.

The constitutional amendments approved at the referendum introduced the positions of two vice presidents, one of them the first vice president.

The first vice president takes over the presidency if the president is unable to perform his or her duties. It doesn’t describe the first vice president’s duties, but it’s expected that they will include overseeing the Cabinet.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva outside the official residence at 10 Downing Street in central London on July 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva outside the official residence at 10 Downing Street in central London on July 13, 2009. AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis