Aliyev is the current President of Azerbaijan and Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party. He came to office in 2003 (succeeding his father) and has won three subsequent elections with voter shares of over 80 percent. Not being outwardly religious, his advocacy of a moderate cultural Islam is representative of the demands of the population of the country. Azerbaijan, with a population of 9.8 million Muslims (over 80 percent are Shia Muslim) is an active member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
Source of Influence: Political
Status: Featured in current year