Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev; born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who is the fourth and current president of Azerbaijan. The son and second child of former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev, Aliyev became the country's president on 31 October 2003, after a two-month term as prime minister of Azerbaijan, through a presidential election defined by irregularities shortly before his father's death. He was reelected for a second term in 2008 and was allowed to run in elections indefinitely in 2013, 2018 and 2024 due to the 2009 constitutional referendum, which removed term limits for presidents. Throughout his electoral campaign, Aliyev was a member of the ruling.