Did You Know? Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister Grew Up in Armenia—Now Leading Border Negotiations
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Shahin Mustafayev, one of the most influential officials in Azerbaijan today, has a little-known personal history that traces back to Armenia’s Tavush region during the Soviet period.
Mustafayev was born in 1965 in the village of Jujevan, near the town of Noyemberyan, in what is now Armenia’s Tavush province. At the time, it was part of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Just a short distance away, in the neighboring town of Ijevan, Armenia’s current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was also growing up, born roughly a decade later.
According to available accounts, Mustafayev was raised in a largely Armenian environment. His family was the only Azerbaijani family in the village, and he attended a local Armenian school. Former teachers and local residents have been cited in Armenian sources recalling that he was known by the Armenian version of his name, “Shahen,” during his childhood years.
He was described as a strong student who completed his early education with high marks. After finishing school in Jujevan, he continued his studies in Noyemberyan before moving on to higher education. Reports indicate that he spent time studying at the Yerevan Institute of National Economy before later completing his degree in 1989 at the Leningrad Institute of Finance and Economics.
Accounts from the period also claim that Mustafayev was present during the early days of the Karabakh movement in 1988, when large rallies were held in Yerevan. Some testimonies suggest he even took part in discussions at the time, although such details remain difficult to independently verify through widely available official records.
Following the outbreak of interethnic tensions in the late 1980s, including the Sumgait events, the Mustafayev family left Armenia. He later moved to Baku, where he began working in the construction sector. Over the years, he steadily advanced within Azerbaijan’s state system.
Since 2019, he has served as Deputy Prime Minister and has taken on key roles in government policy, including acting as co-chair of the Azerbaijani side in the border delimitation commission with Armenia.
In this capacity, he has been directly involved in sensitive negotiations and processes related to the Armenia–Azerbaijan border, including developments in areas such as Kirants village in Tavush region.
Mustafayev’s early life in Armenia, including his education and upbringing in an Armenian-speaking environment, stands in contrast to his later role as a senior official representing Azerbaijan in complex and often tense relations with Armenia.
While some details of his childhood and student years are referenced in regional sources, much of this period remains less documented in official biographies, which tend to focus more on his later education and career in Azerbaijan and Russia.
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