President of Azerbaijan

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Standard of the President
Incumbent Ilham Aliyev since 31 October 2003
Residence	Baku, Azerbaijan
Term length	Seven years, renewable optional
Inaugural holder	Ayaz Mutalibov
Formation	30 August 1991
Website	The President of Azerbaijan

The country of Azerbaijan is a semi-presidential republic, with the President of Azerbaijan as the head of state, and the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan as head of government. The current President of Azerbaijan is Ilham Aliyev.

The Constitution states that the president will be the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and foreign policies", and that he "shall have the right of immunity [from prosecution]." The president rules through his office at Presidential Apparatus, consisting of a group of secretaries and departmental ministers. Additionally, there is a Cabinet of Ministers (regarding economic and social policy) and a Security Council (regarding foreign, military, and judicial matters).

Chief military advisors to the President of Azerbaijan have included: Turkish Air Force Brig. Gen. Yasar Demirbulak (1992–1994), Maj. Gen. Nuraddin Sadykhov (1993–1999), Col. Gen. Tofig Aghahuseynov (1997–2002) and National Security Lt. Gen. Vahid Aliyev (since April 2002).

Among the agencies directly subordinate to the President is the Special State Protection Service.

A candidate for office must be a citizen of Azerbaijan at least 35 years old, and 'permanently resided' in Azerbaijan for at least 5 years.

The election of the President is mainly regulated by the Presidential Election Law (PEL) and the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights (BGL).

Each faction in the National Assembly has the right to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections. The minimum number of signatures for a presidential candidate fielded by a political party with no parliamentary representation is 40,000, before amendments to the law.