HEYDAR ALIYEV 100: LIFE AND LEGACY
Heydar Aliyev Center
*****
Heydar Aliyev is a great personality. He is my friend, brother.
He will always have his place in my heart.
He always fought to build his country as a prosperous nation,
leaving in peace and stability.
Butros-Butros Gali,
Former Secretary General of UN
*****
On the centenary of the birth of Heydar Aliyev, I join the ranks of those who have had the privilege of direct personal contacts with this towering figure of Azerbaijani history during my term in office as President of Latvia. He was truly an impressive personality, free and generous in sharing his insightful analysis of the challenges faced by all the countries that either gained or recovered their national independence after the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991.
His own personal experience spanned the cataclysmic changes that Azerbaijan had experienced during his lifetime, and he was fully committed to a vision of the future of his country that would rapidly advance on the path of independence, stability, social justice, economic development, religious tolerance, and modernity. President Heydar Aliyev possessed an unswerving love of his country and total commitment to defending the interests of his people, which remain as a heritage worth emulating by future generations of Azerbaijanis.
Vaira Vike-Freiberga
Co-Chair Nizami Ganjavi International Center, President of Latvia 1999-2007
PANEL 1: GLOBAL LEADERS TRIBUTE TO THE LEGACY OF HEYDAR ALIYEV
Moderator:
Ismail Serageldin, Co-Chair Nizami Ganjavi International Center, Vice-President of the World Bank 1992-2000, Emeritus Librarian of Alexandria
Keynote Address:
Bayram Begaj, President of the Republic of Albania
Speakers:
• Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia 1999-2007, Co-Chair, Nizami Ganjavi International Center
• Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine 2005-2010
• Petar Stoyanov, President of Bulgaria 1997-2002
• Emil Constantinescu, President of Romania 1996-2000
• Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Countries 2004-2014
• Nino Burjanadze, Acting President of Georgia 2007-2008, 2003-2004
• Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League 2001-2011
• Hikmet Cetin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey 1991-1994
• David Chikvaidze, Chef de Cabinet of the Director-General, UN Office at Geneva
• Abdulaziz Altwaijri, Director-General of ISESCO 1991-2019
PANEL 2: BUILDING A NATION
Moderator:
Zlatko Lagumdzija, Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2001-2002
Speakers:
• Boris Tadic, President of Serbia 2004-2012
• Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia 2007-2011
• Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria 2012-2017
• Eka Tkeshelashvili, deputy Prime Minister of Georgia 2010-2012
• Volkan Bozkir, 75th President of the UN General Assembly
• Yves Leterme, Prime Minister of Belgium 2008, 2009-2011
• Ana Birchall, deputy Prime Minister of Romania 2018-2019
• Rashid Alimov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan 1992-1994, Secretary-General Shanghai Cooperation Organization 2016-2018
• Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Georgia 2013-2018
• Mladen Ivanic, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014-2018
