Mikayil Chingiz oghlu Jabbarov ( born 19 September 1976) is an Azerbaijani politician who is the current Minister of Economу of Azerbaijan (since 23 October 2019)
He was previously Minister of Taxes (2017–2019) and Minister of Education (2013–2017).
Life
Mikayil Jabbarov was born on 19 September 1976 in Baku.
Education
1992–1997 – Studied at Baku State University, graduated from the International Law Department with distinction.
1997–1998 – Obtained an LL.M. degree from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific (Sacramento, California, US).
2004 – Obtained a master's degree in Economics from Azerbaijan State Economic University.
Career
In 1995, Jabbarov began his professional career in the finance industry. After majoring in LL.M. in Sacramento, he became a member of the New York State Bar Association. In 1999, he went on to work as a lawyer in the private sector until 2002.
In 2002, he was appointed to advise the Minister of Economic Development before becoming president of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) in 2003-2004.
On 20 February 2005, Mikayil Jabbarov was appointed Deputy Minister of Economic Development by the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
As deputy minister, he was responsible for coordination of activities related to cooperation with international financial institutions and external economic relations, foreign investment policy, legal issues at international arbitrage and corporate governance.
In 2009, he was appointed Director of the Administration of the Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve by the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
19 April 2013 – appointed Minister of Education by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
16 June 2017 – appointed as co-chair of Azerbaijan-Israel Joint Commission by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
5 December 2017 – appointed as Minister of Taxes by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
17 March 2018 – 2 July 2022 - served as co-chair of the Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the government of Azerbaijan and the government of the Republic of Lithuania by the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
17 March 2018 – 2 March 2020 – served as co-chair of the Joint Commission to promote economic cooperation between the government of Azerbaijan and the government of the Republic of Croatia.
10 October 2018 – promoted to the special rank of 3rd class State Tax Service Adviser by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
9 February 2019 – promoted to the special rank of 2nd class State Tax Service Adviser by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
23 October 2019 – appointed as Minister of Economy by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
4 December 2019 – appointed as co-chair of the Joint Commission between the government of Azerbaijan and the government of the United Arab Emirates on economic, trade and technical cooperation by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
2 March 2020 – appointed as co-chair of the Joint Commission between the government of Azerbaijan and the government of the Swiss Federal Council by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
2 March 2020 – appointed as deputy co-chair of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Georgia on economic cooperation by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
4 January 2021 – appointed as a member of the supervisory board of the «Karabakh Revival Fund» by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
23 January 2021 – appointed as the chairman of the supervisory board of State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan.
7 July 2022 - appointed as co-chair of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Since 28 July 2022 he has been co-chair of the joint intergovernmental commission on economic and humanitarian cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
24 December 2022 – appointed as co-chair of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation.
27 January 2024 – by decree of the President of Azerbaijan, Alat was appointed the head of the Working Group on the free economic zone.
Social activity
From an early age, Mikayil Jabbarov has been involved in various intellectual games, social activities and extracurricular activities.
From 1994 until 1997, he was president of the "Atashgakh" Intellectual Games Club. From 1996 to 1997, he was Vice-Chairman of the Azerbaijani Youth Organizations Forum.
In 1997, he won the CIS championship in the intellectual play "Brain ring". Later that year, Jabbarov became the first Azerbaijani player in the intellectual television game "What?Where? When?" held in Moscow, participated in the Final of the 1997 Summer Series. He was also a regular participant of the Baku TV club, "What? Where? When?". Winner of the 5th Anniversary Club games.
In 2002, he became world champion of the intellectual game "Brain Ring" and champion of the national championship of "What? Where? When?".
For his contributions to strengthening socio-cultural links between Baku and Tbilisi, Mikayil Jabbarov was granted honorary citizenship in Tbilisi (Georgia) in 2009.
2015–2021 – President of the Azerbaijan Badminton Federation.
2017–2021 – President of the Azerbaijan Fencing Federation.
from 2021 – mentor of the winner of the nationwide competition "Yüksəliş".İqtisadiyyat naziri “Yüksəliş” müsabiqəsinin qalibi ilə görüşüb
from 2021 – President of Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation.
2023 – Mentor of Nargiz Balakishiyeva and Nihad Mansimzade, the winners of the second "Yüksəliş" competition.
2024 – Mentor of Farid Isayev and Asad Gurbanzade, the winners of the second "Yüksəliş" competition.
Work at the Administration of Icherisheher Reserve
Under the leadership of Mikayil Jabbarov during 2009–2013, the Administration of the State Historical-Architectural Reserve Icherisheher developed and implemented a comprehensive master plan for the conservation of the historical center of Baku, and a master development plan for Icherisheher.Walled City of Baku with the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Maiden Tower
In accordance with the plans, the conservation and restoration of historic and cultural monuments of national and international importance, such as the Small Caravanserai, the Mohammed Mosque, the religious and architectural complex Syratagly (Market Square) were carried out.SMALL CARAVANSERAI
Most of the walls of the Baku fortress and the 15th tower, destroyed in the early twentieth century, have been restored. Restoration, conservation and research work were conducted on the Maiden Tower, included in the UNESCO's List of Cultural Heritage.RESTORING MEDIEVAL BAKU An automated system has been introduced in order to regulate and minimize vehicle access to the reserve.
The successful management and restoration of key historical, cultural and architectural monuments led to the expansion of Mikayil Jabbarov's area of responsibility. The Baku Marionette Theatre was transferred to the Administration's control.History Of The Theatre The State Historical and Ethnographic Reserve Gala and the Historical and Architectural Museum Reserve Shirvanshahs’ Palace Complex were included in the Reserve.THE CHARTER OF THE ADMINISTRATIONPresident of Azerbaijan signed an order on measures related to Gala State Historic and Ethnographic Preserve in Baku`s Gala settlementDECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN By presidential decree a house-museum of world-renowned artist Tahir Salahov was established in the Reserve area.TAHIR SALAHOV'S HOUSE MUSEUMPresident Ilham Aliyev orders establishment of Tahir Salahov`s house-museum
Mikayil Jabbarov also oversaw the development of the Administration's foreign relations. For instance, the Centre for Traditional Arts Icherisheher was established in cooperation with the Prince of Wales School of Traditional Arts (UK).AZERBAIJAN, BAKU: ICHERISHEHER CENTRE FOR TRADITIONAL ARTS
In general, Jabbarov's name is associated with initiatives to turn the Reserve into a center for domestic and foreign tourism and to increase the tourism services' level provided within the Reserve.Микаил Джаббаров: «Трехмиллионное население столицы может и должно составить основу туристической «клиентуры» «Ичери Шехер»
Mikayil Jabbarov also supervised and successfully implemented the process of excluding Icherisheher from UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger. The Administration of Icherisheher has become an example for other countries, whose UNESCO World Heritage sites are in danger.MAPPING OF THE CULTURE SECTOR GOVERNANCE SYSTEM IN THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN
Work at the Ministry of Education
Mikayil Jabbarov served as the Minister of Education in 2013-2017.
During this period, for the first time, preschool education for 5-year-old children was launched at the state expense at general education schools.
Additionally, since 2015, the process of admission to the first grades in Baku has been completely electronic.
Based on Mikayil Jabbarov's proposals, new rules have been applied to the republican scientific Olympiads since 2015. These rules, which serve to ensure healthy competition, have boosted students' interest in Olympiads, identified talented students, and contributed to increasing confidence in knowledge competitions.
In 2017, the special electronic system Transfer.Edu.Az was put into use to simplify the process of transferring students from one to another higher education institution located in the country and abroad, or from one specialty to another, and to ensure transparency.
During his tenure as the Minister of Education, Mikayil Jabbarov initiated the creation of special teaching SABAH groups, where highly prepared students are given the importance of studying in English. As a result, in 2014, SABAH groups were established in 7 state higher education institutions under the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan for 34 specialties, and according to the information as of 2024, they continue to operate at 11 state universities.
In 2015, the "Maarifchi" Student Loan Fund was established by the state higher education institutions of Azerbaijan at the initiative of the Ministry of Education in order to create equal opportunities for students from low-income families to receive higher education through the provision of loans.
Work at the Ministry of Taxes
At the conference on "Taxes. Transparency. Development." held in Baku in 2018, Mikayil Jabbarov named his primary objectives as the Minister of Taxes, which were: ensuring the transparency of the Ministry's activities, simplifying export procedures, accessibility of the Ministry's services to citizens of the country, mutual trust between taxpayers and tax authorities, as well as effective oversight of tax revenues.
The minister regularly discussed these objectives, steps to achieve them, as well as information on tax reforms and changes in legislation during meetings with representatives of the diplomatic corps of foreign states, accredited in Azerbaijan, local and foreign business representatives.
The first steps to achieve the objectives stated by the Minister were installation of excise posts at tobacco and alcohol producing enterprises; execution of the twinning program "Support to the Ministry of Taxes in transfer pricing and developing anti-tax avoidance measures"; introduction of online cash registers; implementation of a single procedure for legal entity registration in 20 minutes; number of initiatives to improve transparency in various sectors of the economy, and many more.