WorldAzerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday appointed his glamorous wife as first vice president, the latest move seen as tightening the family's iron grip on the oil-rich Caspian nation. Mehriban Aliyeva “is appointed the first vice president of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” the leader said in a decree published on his website. Prominent socialite Aliyeva, 52, has been a ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party lawmaker since 2005 and head of the influential Heydar Aliyev Foundation -- named after her father-in-law and former president. The appointment follows constitutional changes made after a tightly-managed referendum last year that introduced the powerful position of first vice president. Such steps were denounced by regime opponents as a ploy to cement the Aliyev family's dynastic rule.

Source: Sunday Times February 21, 2017 11:29 UTC