Baku, December 2, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has presented the “Sharaf” Order to Dilara Seyidzade.

President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Mrs Seyidzade, as you know, a new structure of the Presidential Administration was approved at the end of last week. According to this structure, the secretariat you were leading for many years and several departments have been abolished, and several new departments have been set up. This is a natural process because reforms, including structural, are under way throughout our country. A new structure of the Cabinet of Ministers will be approved in the coming days. In the near future, the parliament will be reorganized. This is a natural process. At the same time, a rejuvenation process is under way. And this is also natural because we must create opportunities for younger personnel to show their abilities.

You were invited to the Presidential Administration by great leader Heydar Aliyev in 1993. It is possible to say that immediately after the start of his activities as President, Heydar Aliyev showed you this high confidence, and you worked under his leadership for 10 years. So you have been working in the Presidential Administration for 26 years, including 20 as head of the secretariat. I personally know of the great leader’s good attitude towards you - I witnessed this. He believed you, relied on you, which is why he entrusted you with this high post.

We have been working together for the past 16 years. And I was always pleased with your work. As a very responsible, knowledgeable and professional person, you have made a great contribution to the overall development of our country. Given all this, I am awarding you a high state order, the “Sharaf” Order. You are worthy of this high Order. This Order is a high mark given to your work by the state. Let me present this high award to you.

Dilara Seyidzade: Thank you very much.

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The head of state presented the “Sharaf” Order to Dilara Seyidzade.

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President Ilham Aliyev: Congratulations.

Dilara Seyidzade: Thank you very much, Mr President. You know, it is a great day for me today. I worked all my life as a historian. It was a great honor for me. Thank you very much, and the name of this Order is “Sharaf”, or “Honor”. I am very glad that the great and unforgettable person, our brilliant leader Heydar Aliyev believed in me, trusted me, appointed me first as his assistant and then created a secretariat and set very responsible tasks for me. When creating the secretariat, he explained all the work to me. Apparently, he believed that the secretariat would do the very necessary work at that time.

Let me express my gratitude to you for the fact that you also trusted us, showed attention and concern for the secretariat I headed. We felt this attention and care on a daily basis. We were proud to somehow help you with our daily work. That was the meaning of our life.

And today, demonstrating great attention, you took the time to receive me and present such a high award to me. I always admire your speeches and listen to them very attentively. They always communicate our history to every person. I can say that you are the great son of the Azerbaijani people. We are all always proud of you, everyone loves you. I wish you permanent happiness, so that you could always lead our beautiful homeland forward.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. Thank you for your kind words. I wish you good health too. I am sure that you, as a great historian and public figure, will continue to make a valuable contribution to the overall development of our country, and will communicate to the public, especially to the younger generation, the history of Azerbaijan, in particular, our modern history as it is, the truth with all the details.

My speech at the event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Baku State University was a very serious message mostly to young people. They should know the truth as it is, appreciate the realities of today and know about the historical merits of great leader Heydar Aliyev to the Azerbaijani people. We all remember those bitter days quite well. Chaos, anarchy and arbitrariness reigned in Azerbaijan, the independence of our country was in question. It is possible to say that Azerbaijan was on the threshold of dismemberment. It was the fortitude, courage and knowledge of Heydar Aliyev, and people’s confidence in him that saved us from this difficult situation and put us on the path to development.

Therefore, I believe that even more fundamental works should be written about our modern history - both scientific and journalistic. There is a great need for this, especially because we have experienced this history, we are all witnesses to this history. I believe that communicating this history the way it is, reflecting it in history books would be great. I am sure that you, as a historian and a person who has played an important part in the formation of Azerbaijani statehood, will continue to carry out this work in your scientific activities. I wish you good health and continued success.