For Valentine's Day, the Central Asia portal has prepared an overview of the romantic stories of the presidents of the CIS countries and their wives.
Azerbaijan. Ilham Aliyev — Mehriban Aliyeva
Mehriban Aliyeva, the First Lady of Azerbaijan, was born on August 26, 1964, in Baku into the family of renowned intelligentsia, the Pashaevs, whose name has become synonymous with influence in the scientific community and in non-energy-related business.
The wedding ceremony of Mehriban Pashaeva and Ilham Aliyev took place in 1983 when they were still studying at universities. Mehriban had just transferred to a medical institute in Moscow, while Ilham was studying in graduate school at MGIMO.
Just a year later, they welcomed their first daughter, Leyla, and in 1989, after returning to Azerbaijan, they became parents to their second daughter, Arzu. In 1997, while in London, Mehriban gave her husband a son, Heydar, thus adding an heir to the family.
