Son of the President Succeeds Him in Office
Ilham Aliyev was inaugurated as Azerbaijan’s new president, succeeding his ailing father as leader of the oil-rich former Soviet republic. Aliyev, 41, was sworn in during a ceremony at the Respublika Palace attended by about 2,000 people. His 80-year-old father, Heydar A. Aliyev, was too frail to leave the Cleveland, Ohio, hospital where he has been under treatment since July.
The elder Aliyev had been president since 1993. Ilham Aliyev was elected in October in a vote criticized by Western observers for alleged fraud.
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