Ramiz Mehdiyev, President of Azerbaijan’s National Academy of Sciences and former head of Presidential Administration, has resigned from his position at the Academy on February 14. Mehdiyev’s resignation comes after weeks of wordly skirmishes between him and his critics.
“The academy has come a long way and must always be with the state. The activities of our scientists should be in this direction, all work should be done according to the state policy,” Mehdiyev wrote in his final statement as President of the Academy published in the website of the institution.
For last several weeks, Mehdiyev has constantly used the Academy’s website as a platform to respond to criticism against him and the work of the Academy. Many of his critics are members of parliament, pro-government media and even some employees of his own Academy.
The most common line of criticism against Mehdiyev was that he prioritized personal interests in his work at the Academy, a corrupt practice that, according to his attackers, Mehdiyev adapted throughout his tenure at President Ilham Aliyev’s Administration.
Mehdiyev worked as the head of Presidential Administration from 1995 to 2019, during which he gained the so-called title of “gray cardinal”, meaning that he was behind the most important political decisions in the country.
In his response to criticisms, Mehdiyev simply dismissed the allegations and hinted that some of his MP critics were elected by fraud.
Mehdiyev’s critics welcomed the news of his resignation. MP Ganira Pashayeva wrote on Facebook:
“Finally, the desired news arrived: Ramiz Mehdiyev resigned! The home of our science, with its peculiar traditions, will breath peacefully. Ramiz Mehdiyev was the only name that caused to transform the Academy from the venue of science into battlefield, place for political revenge.”
Ganira Pashayeva
Analysts in the country dismissed Mehdiyev’s resignation as something not-so-important, arguing that he started to become less and less influential after being sacked from the Presidential Administration in 2019.
“Make no mistake, they were only “allowed” to criticize him, it didn’t come from their own volition,” social media commentator Javid Agha tweeted, referring to Mehdiyev’s critics.
The day Mehdiyev resigned, his longtime former assistant at President’s Administration and current chief of Secretariat of the National Academy of Sciences Eldar Amirov was arrested for a month on charge of retaliation against police.
Azerbaijani social media reacted to Amirov’s news as the next move on the fall of Mehdiyev’s reign.
