Arif Pashayev is an Azerbaijani research scientist. He is the father of Mehriban Aliyeva, the vice president and first lady of Azerbaijan.[1302]
As a tenured physics professor at the Azerbaijan Technical University,[876] Pashayev has hundreds of academic articles to his name.[876] He spent the latter part of his career heading several prestigious Azerbaijani scientific and aviation academies.[903]
While Pashayev is not known to have been an entrepreneur, he was supposedly the driving force behind PASHA Holding, a sprawling holding company that was set up in 2006, shortly after President Ilham Aliyev came to power.[682] [528] PASHA Holding’s ownership has been shrouded in secrecy.[528] However, until at least 2012, it was beneficially owned by Pashayev; from 2013, his granddaughters Arzu and Leyla Aliyeva were the beneficial owners.[997] [1337] [1336] [1112] [1270] [341]
Pashayev has multiple other shared business interests with his two granddaughters, as well as with his nephew, Mir Jamal Pashayev.[732] [275]
Arif Pashayev did not respond to The Sentry’s request for comment.
