The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan Republic is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan

Cabinet of Azerbaijan

The Cabinet of Azerbaijan is the chief executive body of the Republic of Azerbaijan.-The Executive Power:The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state....

 in charge of regulating activities related to sports

Sport in Azerbaijan

Sport in Azerbaijan has ancient roots, and even now, both traditional and modern sports are still practiced. Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally regarded as Azerbaijan's national sport, however today, the most popular sports in Azerbaijan are football and chess.-Wrestling:Wrestling remains a...

 and youth development in Azerbaijan Republic. The ministry is headed by Azad Rahimov

Azad Rahimov

Azad Rahimov Arif oglu is an Azerbaijani politician who serves as the Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan Republic. He has occupied the position since 2005.-Early life:...

.

History

The Ministry of Youth and Sport was established on July 26, 1994 by the Presidential

President of Azerbaijan

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

 Decree No. 179. The statute of the ministry was approved by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan

National Assembly of Azerbaijan

The National Assembly , also transliterated as Milli Majlis is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies and 25 were members elected by proportional...

 with Resolution No. 861. The ministry was based on the immediate need for development of Azerbaijani youth which suffered from several years of Nagorno-Karabakh War

Nagorno-Karabakh War

The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...

. It was estimated that at least 30% of the Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs

Refugees and internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani SSR was the first republic of Soviet Union that faced the problem of refugees. Those people were the Azerbaijani inhabitants of Armenia.-Refugees from Armenia:...

 were young people under the age of 25. Fourteen committees within the ministry were formed analized how the young people should relate to such topics as religion, business, crime, drugs, education, agriculture, health, sports, ideology, politics, entertainment. The results of government's attention to sports was immediate. In 1995, Azerbaijani athletes brought home 52 medals, including 23 gold. They excelled most in wrestling, boxing, judo, and karate. On April 18, 2001 the Council of Foreign Tourism under the administration of Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan

Cabinet of Azerbaijan

The Cabinet of Azerbaijan is the chief executive body of the Republic of Azerbaijan.-The Executive Power:The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state....

 was liquidated and its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Youth and Sport, subsequently re-establishing it as the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Tourism. On January 30, 2006 according to the Presidential Decree of Ilham Aliyev

Ilham Aliyev

Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev is the President of Azerbaijan since 2003. He also functions as the Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party and the head of the National Olympic Committee...

, the ministry was split up thus re-establishing the Ministry of Youth and Sport and forming a new Ministry of Tourism which was later transformed into the Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Azerbaijan)

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan Republic is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of regulation of the activities in and development of tourism in Azerbaijan and promotion of Azerbaijani culture...

.

Structure

The ministry is headed by the minister aided by two deputy ministers. Main functions of the ministry are education and training of younger generation in accordance with national strategy of youth development in social, economic and cultural life of the country; education of the youth with universal and national values; ensuring social, moral and healthy physical development of the youth; teaching and popularizing values involving historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan among the youth; popularization of patriotic activities ensuring loyalty to the homeland; cooperation with other relevant governmental structures to assure increase in workplaces for youth; assistance in realization of state programs on solution of social problems of orphanages and children in poor families; protection of rights of children; participation in and motivation to create youth organizations throughout the country; ensure cooperation of youth organizations with their peers abroad and their participation in international conferences; implementation of state programs in the sphere of physical training of the youth; promotion of all kinds of sports activities in social life. The ministry also holds annual Festival of Creative Students aiming to improve the aesthetic education of students, revealing creative and talented young people, and increasing its public support.