Rasul Guliyev
An exiled former speaker of Azerbaijan's parliament who became a prominent opposition figure and a persistent critic of the ruling Aliyev government.
Born 1947 (age 79)·Azerbaijani Politician and author·Birthday: December 10·Baby Boomers
Biography
Rasul Guliyev’s life charts a dramatic arc from political insider to exiled dissident. In the turbulent years following Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union, he rose to become a powerful figure as Speaker of the National Assembly and a close ally of President Heydar Aliyev. His tenure from 1993 to 1996 placed him at the heart of the nation's formative politics. However, a dramatic rupture occurred. Accused of corruption—charges he vehemently denied as politically motivated—he was removed from his post and, while abroad in 1996, chose not to return. From exile, primarily in the United States, he reinvented himself as an opposition leader, founding the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan and publishing critiques of the government. His story became one of a system that elevates and then exiles its own, a permanent shadow figure in Azerbaijani politics, symbolizing the fierce and often dangerous battles for power in the oil-rich Caspian state.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Rasul was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Rasul Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Rasul's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 70
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 79 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 1996 during a critical post-Soviet period.
- Founded and led the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, a major opposition force operating in exile.
- Previously held the position of First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
- Was a key political figure in the administration of President Heydar Aliyev before their split.
Did You Know?
He was a trained engineer and economist before entering full-time politics.
In 2005, he attempted a highly publicized return to Azerbaijan via Ukraine, but his plane was diverted, and he was unable to enter the country.
He has authored several books on politics and economics from his base in exile.
The Azerbaijani government has repeatedly sought his extradition from the United States on corruption charges.
“My fight is for a democratic Azerbaijan, free from the corruption of a single family's rule.”
