Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev; born 24 December 1961) is the President of Azerbaijan, since 2003. He also functions as the Chairman of theNew Azerbaijan Party and the head of the National Olympic Committee. Apart from his native Azerbaijani, he speaks English and Russian. Ilham Aliyev is the son of Heydar Aliyev, who was Azerbaijan's president from 1993–2003.

Ilham Aliyev's image remains largely controversial. He has been criticized for his authoritarian rule and sometimes described as the head of corruption in Europe by analysts and political commentators. Aliyev's government has been listed as one of the most corrupt in Europe by Transparency International.

In 2009, following his reelection as president, Aliyev passed a referendum which removed the presidential consecutive term limit, thereby allowing him to run for president as many times as he wishes. Opposition claimed this to be a violation of the Azerbaijani constitution and the European convention on human rights.

In 2013, Ilham Aliyev faced criticism from the United States and Amnesty International for election 'irregularities' along with crackdowns against journalists and opposition activists, including the jailing of election monitors