Nadir Nasibov

Admirers of Nadir Nasibov might see him as an Azerbaijani renaissance man for the post-Communist era. With a strong education in the humanities, Nadir Nasibov rose to positions of influence in journalism, business, sports, and international consulting. For example, Nadir Nasibov currently heads the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation. Appointed to the position in January 2000, Nadir Nasibov spent two years searching for a head coach with international stature. In 2002, he convinced Olympic champion Rimas Kurtinaitis to sign on as head coach. They transformed the sport of basketball in Azerbaijan. Over the next eight years, the national team won several major championships, including the 2005 First Islamic Games in Saudi Arabia, and the 2010 international tournament Novruz in Kyrgyzstan. In the field of economics, Nadir Nasibov leads Azerbaijan’s Economic Research Center, known as ITM. This position allows Nadir Nasibov to coordinate investments in Azerbaijani infrastructure with international corporations and financial institutions. In addition, Nadir Nasibov provides investment-consulting services for projects in Europe Asia, was well as Azerbaijan. Nadir Nasibov’s appointment to this position followed a decade of involvement his country’s economic liberalization. In the mid-1990s, Nadir Nasibov served as Chairman of the State Property Committee. Over the next several years, Nadir Nasibov facilitated the transfer to private hands of 20,000 parcels of real estate. In addition, more than 1,000 large- and medium-sized companies incorporated during this period. For a number of years in his early career, Nadir Nasibov worked in journalism. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nadir Nasibov played a significant role in the Youth of Azerbaijan magazine. He also founded an international magazine, Europe-Asia and for a time served as Editor-In-Chief. In 1994, Nadir Nasibov took the reins of Yurd (“The Fatherland”) magazine, the official print publication of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.