Prof. Dr. Ali M. Abbasov is the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Ilham Aliyev appointed him to the state position as the minister on February 20, 2004.

Prof. Dr. Ali M. Abbasov served for four years (2000-2004) as the rector of Azerbaijan State Economic University, where he earned a reputation as a reformer in the education system, who shaped and created international relations between Azerbaijan State Economic University and famous universities of the North America, the Western Europe and CIS, established the distance education system firstly in Azerbaijan, and also was the chairman of Department of Information Technologies in the World Economy. During this period serving as the president of Computer Networks Association of Azerbaijan on Science and Education (AzRENA) he has headed the projects like "Development of Internet Network on Science and Education", "Establishment of Distance Education System in the Republic of Azerbaijan", "Virtual Silk Road" (Satellite Information Highway via the Great Silk Road Countries) and so on.

He earned an international reputation as a politician being a member of the National Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2000-2004), and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (2001-2004).

The Cambridge Biographical Center announced Prof. Dr. Ali M. Abbasov "International Man of a Year on the Techniques and Technology" in 1996. He is an expert of UNESCO in field of Information and Telecommunications since 1994, a full member of International Academy of Informatization (the Moscow Division) since 1998, a full member of International Academy of Sciences (the Azerbaijan Division) since 2000, a full member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Azerbaijan since 2001.

Minister Ali M. Abbasov was born in 1953. He entered Oil and Chemistry Institute of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1969, and in order to continue his education was transferred to the Moscow Institute of Energy in 1972 and graduated from the institute on the specialty of Automation and Telemechanics in 1976. During 1977-1981 he continued education in the post-graduate course of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine, and received a scientific degree on technical sciences in the field of microelectronics in 1981. He had a lot of scientific, research and practical works on processing and application of computer networks in the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic during 1982-1992.

He served as a Director of Scientific Center for Information and Telecommunications (now called as the Institute of Information Technologies) of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Azerbaijan during 1992-2000. During this period he was the Chief Engineer of the project "Automated Management Systems of the Republic of Azerbaijan", the Republican Coordinator on EARN and Internet Networks, the NATO Scientific Committee's Azerbaijani Coordinator on the Information Technologies, and executor and supervisor of several computer and information systems of special-purposes. He also represented the Republic of Azerbaijan in the European Internet Association on Science and Education (TERENA).

He defended a doctoral dissertation on specialty of "Processing of Information and Management Systems" and received a doctoral degree on technical sciences in 1993. He received the scientific title of professor in the field of informatics in 1996.

Minister Ali M. Abbasov is an author of more than 120 scientific-technical publications (mainly published in foreign countries), as well as 6 monographs, and has participated at many international conferences, symposiums and forums, as well as a keynote speaker most of them. He speaks English and Russian.

Minister is married and has two children.