Avaz Alakbarov Avaz Alakbarov Akbar oglu () (born July 23, 1952) is an Azerbaijani politician and scientist who served as Minister of Finance of Azerbaijan Republic from July 1999 to April 2006. Biography Dr Alakbarov was born in the village of Jil, Gegharkunik, Armenian SSR. He graduated with Honorary diploma in Economics from Azerbaijan State Institute of National Economy (now Azerbaijan State University of Economics) named after Dadash Bunyadzade in 1973. From 1973 to 1974, he served in the Soviet Armed Forces Units in Belarus. Alakbarov's career began as an accountant at Baku's construction company in 1973. From 1975 until 1981 Dr Alakbarov worked in the position of Senior Economist with the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan SSR, "Azergurashdirmatikinti" Trust. He later held the position of Head of the Planning Department and Deputy Chief of the Trust on Economic Issues. From 1981 to 1984, Dr Alakbarov held the position of Senior Assessor of the Financial Planning Department and from 1984 to 1991 Deputy Head of the Economic Department in the Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR. He became the Head of Azerbaijan branch of Pension Fund of USSR in 1991. He was appointed by Presidential decree as the Chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan Pension Fund in 1991. Then he spent 1992 through 1999 serving as Chairman of the State Social Protection Fund of the Azerbaijan Republic. Alakbarov was appointed Finance Minister by President Heydar Aliyev on July 11, 1999 and served as minister until October 2003. On November 5, 2003 government reshuffle, President Ilham Aliyev confirmed Avaz Alakbarov as Finance Minister of Azerbaijan Republic and later on April 18, 2006 Ilham Aliyev dismissed him from his position replacing him with Samir Sharifov. He participated as a speaker at international and bilateral interstate conferences in the United States, Great Britain, China, Turkey, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, India and various other countries He was a member of New Azerbaijan Party Political Board from May 2000 till June 2013. In 2003 received an Academic degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences. Dr Alakbarov is a full member of the International Academy of Management since June 9, 2005. He wrote number of books dealing with Socio-economic development of Azerbaijan Republic in order to receive an Academic degree of Doctor of Economic Sciences. Academic career Dr. Alakbarov defended his dissertation on economic sciences, established by the Supreme Attestation Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on September 30, 2003, at the Institute of Economy of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, in Baku, the topic of "Problems of Formation and Development of Social Insurance in Azerbaijan in Market Conditions" (Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist Tofig Guliyev, doctor of economics, professor Kamil Shahbazov, candidate of economical sciences, associate professor Adile Gozelova, leading organization of the Russian Academy of Labor and Social Affairs). On January 15, 2008 he defended his doctoral dissertation on "Problems of financial and budgetary regulation of socio-economic development" at the dissertational Dissertation Council (official opponents were correspondent member of ANAS Ali Nuriyev, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor Rafig Aliyev, Scientific Research Institute of Economic Reforms of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan), has been working as a doctor of economic sciences and has been engaged in scientific activity. Dr. Alakbarov has up to 70 scientific publications, author of 4 monographs, 1 bibliographic book, and 1 textbook. Candidate's dissertation as well as doctoral thesis was carried out at the Institute of Economy of ANAS. He has more than 500 articles on socio-political and economic issues in the world and the country's press.