Najmeddin Sadikov

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Najmeddin Sadikov
Ilham Aliyev viewed conditions created at newly-reconstructed Military Lyceum named after Jamshid Nahchivanshi 15 (cropped).jpg
Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces
In office
2 November 1993[1] – 28 January 2021[2]
PresidentHeydar Aliyev
Ilham Aliyev
Preceded byNuraddin Sadigov[3]
Safar Abiyev (acting)
Succeeded byKarim Valiyev
Personal details
Born (1956-05-24) May 24, 1956 (age 65)
Derbent, Dagestan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLezgin
Military service
Branch/service Soviet Army
Coat of arms of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.png Azerbaijani Armed Forces
Years of service1975-2021
Rank18.AzLF-CG.png Colonel General
Battles/warsFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War;
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

Najmeddin Huseyn oglu Sadikov (Azerbaijani: Nəcməddin Hüseyn oğlu Sadıkov; born May 24, 1956) is an Azerbaijani Colonel General of Lezgin origin who served as the incumbent Chief of the General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan. He was appointed to both positions on November 2, 1993 by President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev.[1][4] It was announced that he was not serving as the chief of staff on 28 January 2021,[2] and Karim Valiyev took his position on 23 July of that year.[5]

Personal life[]

Sadikov was born in the city of Derbent. He has a brother who died in the 1980s.[6] After the outbreak of hostilities in 1991, he moved to Azerbaijan with his family. He is married with three children. He has three children. Emin Agalarov, the ex-son-in-law of Ilham Aliyev was engaged to Sadikov's daughter Fatima.[7][8] Sadikov’s nephew, Ramil Asgarov, is another senior military official, who was major general until June 2020.[9]

Soviet Armed Forces[]

He joined the Soviet Armed Forces in 1975. He graduated from the Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School in 1979 and earned the “Gold medal”. He served as a platoon commander, a company commander, a battalion commander and regiment deputy commander in the Soviet Army from 1979 to 1992.[10] He graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow in 1988, and completed the Higher Officer Courses "Vystrel" ("Shot") named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Boris Shaposhnikov in 1991.

Azerbaijani Armed Forces[]

He joined the Azerbaijani Army on 1 February 1992. After its creation on 3 March 1992, Sadikov became the first commander of the 1st Army Corps.[11] He led the corps during the failed Battle of Kalbajar.[12] On 2 November 1993, he was appointed as Chief of the General Staff. Up until his dismissal, he was the longest serving chief of defence in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Sadikov was a member of the Commission on National Security Policies which prepares and develops documents on national security concepts, foreign policy strategies and military doctrines of Azerbaijan Republic.[13] According to the Presidential Decree No. 858 from June 24, 2005 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel General.[14]

Criticisms[]

His critics allege that Sadikov, who despite being ethnically Azeri, does not know the Azerbaijani language because he was born in Dagestan, and therefore all documents on his desk are first translated from Azerbaijani into Russian by special services.[12] In early October 2020, Azeri press circles spread rumors on the arrest of Sadikov, who was accused of treason. Investigators claimed that he was recruited by the Russian special services through a nephew in Russia. Later, this information was refuted, and the media reported that Sadikov was sidelined at the beginning of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war due to his dissatisfaction with the widespread presence of the Turkish Armed Forces in the administrative level of the Azerbaijani military.[15]

He has also been accused of having a good relationship with Armenian officials, with many pointing to a photo of Sadikov and Armenian general Mikael Harutyunyan laughing at a NATO summit in 2008 as a reason to be distrustful of Sadikov.[16]

Protests against him[]

During the July 2020 Azerbaijani protests, the protesters chanted slogans "Najmaddin resign".[17] The demonstrators demanded his resignation due to him being suspected of acting as a sleeper agent for the Armenian Army, in which he leaked the coordinates of General Polad Hashimov during mini skirmishes that month.[18][19] Sadigov served as a pallbearer at his funeral.[20]

Dismissal and missing[]

On 28 January 2021, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry confirmed the dismissal of Sadikov, saying that he no longer serves in the Azerbaijani army.[21] It was earlier reported that he had serious health problems and underwent open-heart surgery in Moscow.[22] Later, his name was removed from the official website of the ministry.[23]

During Azerbaijan's military offensive against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Najmeddin Sadikov disappeared and hasn't been seen since. Agil Abbas, deputy of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, believes that Sadikov is under house arrest. Official information has not been published. Fuad Shahbaz, a Baku-based political and military analyst, said, that "The state wants a quiet solution to this and for people to forget about it."[24][25]

Awards[]

Sadikov has received numerous awards, among them:

See also[]

  • Azerbaijani Army
  • Ministers of Defense of Azerbaijan Republic
  • Safar Abiyev

References[]

  1. ^ a b "N. H. Sadıqov haqqında AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI PREZİDENTİNİN SƏRƏNCAMI" [Decree of President of Azerbaijan on appointment of N.H. Sadigov]. Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  2. ^ a b Müdafiə Nazirliyi: Nəcməddin Sadıkov hazırda hərbi xidmətdə deyil - EKSKLÜZİV. Apa.az
  3. ^ Azer Isgandarov (2009-12-22). "Скончался бывший начальник генштаба ВС Азербайджана" [Former Chief of General Staff of Azerbaijan died]. ANS. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  4. ^ "Azerbaijan air force head killed". BBC. 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  5. ^ General-leytenant Kərim Vəliyev Azərbaycan Ordusunun Baş Qərargah rəisi təyin edilib
  6. ^ https://apa.az/az/azerbaycan-ordusu/MN-Ncmddin-Sadikov-hazirda-xidmt-yerinddir-v-vziflrini-icra-edir-597696
  7. ^ https://assam.org.tr/index.php/konular/dis-politika/sadikov-degi%CC%87l-hai%CC%87nov.html
  8. ^ https://24smi.org/celebrity/135263-fatima-sadykova.html
  9. ^ http://www.e-qanun.az/framework/46751
  10. ^ "Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan".
  11. ^ "Tərtərdə N nömrəli hərbi hissənin yaradılmasının 26 illiyi qeyd edilib". AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI MÜDAFİƏ NAZİRLİYİ (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  12. ^ a b "Qələbə üçün ilk zərurət – Nəcməddin Sadıkov yerinə hansı fərarini gətirir?". Azadliq (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  13. ^ "Azərbaycan Respublikasının milli təhlükəsizlik siyasəti sahəsində İşçi Qrupunun yaradılması haqqında AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI PREZİDENTİNİN SƏRƏNCAMI" [Decree of President of Azerbaijan on establishment of Working Group for National Security Issues]. Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  14. ^ "Azərbaycan Respublikası Silahlı Qüvvələrinin hərbi qulluqçularına ali hərbi rütbələrin verilməsi haqqında AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI PREZİDENTİNİN SƏRƏNCAMI" [Decree of President of Azerbaijan on conferring servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces]. Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  15. ^ "Aliyev dismisses defense minister at the request of Turkey – WarGonzo". armenpress.am. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  16. ^ https://musavat.com/news/general-sadiqov-ve-ermeni-general_133142.html
  17. ^ "Pro-war Azerbaijani protesters break into parliament | Eurasianet".
  18. ^ "Yüksək rütbəli zabitlərimizin ölümü qəzəb doğurdu - Nəcməddin Sadıqov dərhal kənarlaşdırılsın" [The death of our high-ranking officers angered - Najmaddin Sadigov should be removed immediately]. Aqreqator.az (in Azerbaijani). 14 July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Nəcməddin Sadıqovun kənarlaşdırılması tələbi artır, yerinə namizəd də var" [The demand to remove Najmaddin Sadigov is growing, and there is a candidate to replace him]. Baxar.az (in Azerbaijani). 19 July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  20. ^ "A farewell ceremony was held with our martyred officers VIDEO". Azerbaijan State News Agency. 15 July 2020. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  21. ^ Media.Az. "Кто исполняет обязанности Наджмеддина Садыкова?". media.az (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  22. ^ "Наджмеддин Садыков больше не состоит на военной службе - заявление Минобороны". Day.Az (in Russian). 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  23. ^ APA.az (2021-01-28). "Azerbaijani MoD: Najmeddin Sadikov is not currently in military service - EXCLUSIVE". apa.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  24. ^ The mystery of Azerbaijan’s missing army chief. Eurasianet. 3 March 2021
  25. ^ Azerbaijan: Armenian Prisoners of War Badly Mistreated. Human Rights Watch. 2 December 2020
  26. ^ "Azərbaycan Respublikası Müdafiə Nazirliyinin hərbi qulluqcularının təltif edilməsi haqqında AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI PREZİDENTİNİN FƏRMANI" [Order of President of Azerbaijan on awarding servicemen of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan Republic]. Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  27. ^ "Azərbaycan Respublikası Müdafiə Nazirliyinin hərbi qulluqcularının təltif edilməsi haqqında AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI PREZİDENTİNİN SƏRƏNCAMI" [Decree of President of Azerbaijan on awarding servicemen of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan Republic]. Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  28. ^ "Azərbaycan Respublikası Müdafiə Nazirliyinin hərbi qulluqcularının təltif edilməsi haqqında AZƏRBAYCAN RESPUBLİKASI PREZİDENTİNİN SƏRƏNCAMI" [Decree of President of Azerbaijan on awarding servicemen of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan Republic]. Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  29. ^ "Prezident Zakir Həsənov və Nəcməddin Sadıkovu mükafatlandırdı".
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