In fact, this could be a welcome sign of President Aliyev’s efforts to bring more professionals and technocrats to positions of leadership. The 44-year old Mamedyarov is a career diplomat, who rose through the ranks of the ministry he now heads. A graduate of the Kyiv Institute of International Relations in Ukraine and once a visiting researcher at Brown University in Providence, he is one of the few professionally-trained Azerbaijani diplomats. Mr. Mamedyarov served at the Azerbaijani Mission to the United Nations in New York, was the Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, DC and most recently inaugurated Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Rome. Of the above, his posting in Washington, DC is, perhaps, most significant because it provided an opportunity for deeper involvement with security affairs, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, energy diplomacy as well as for understanding the U.S. domestic political process. Importantly, he was in Washington on September 11, 2001, a major turning point for the United States and U.S.-Azerbaijani relations.

In his first interview with ANS-TV, Mamedyarov predictably said that resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is his highest priority. To deal with the challenge of the stalled negotiations against the background of the increasingly frustrated Azerbaijani public, his energetic style could be useful. In fact, the new minister will have to use diplomatic skills not only with his Armenian counterpart and the OSCE’s often distracted mediators, but also to convince the Azerbaijanis that the Minsk Group-mediated peace talks still make sense even though they have produced no results over the last 12 years. The importance of resolving the conflict underscored by the new minister seem to reflect President Ilham Aliyev’s overall greater focus on this issue.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is not, however, Mamedyarov’s only challenge. Azerbaijan’s traditional policy of carefully balancing its pro-Western orientation with relations with neighboring Russia and Iran, advancing Euro-Atlantic integration, regional affairs, such as the ongoing Caspian delimitation talks and strengthening ties with partners, primarily Georgia and Turkey, as well as increasing pace of the deepening U.S.-Azerbaijan security cooperation all remain major priorities in the foreign policy agenda. His new job took a positive start for as the very first meeting as foreign minister on April 8 was with the Council of Europe’s Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer, who stated that the problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan had been resolved. Given that the Council of Europe is Azerbaijan’s major multilateral partner this comes as good news.

Neither is Mr. Mamedyarov a stranger to the state bureaucracy. In an odd combination, possible perhaps only in emerging nations, he is both a dynamic representative of the younger generation and a veteran of Azerbaijan’s foreign service. This comes handy as he assumes charge of a massive institution and becomes a participant in the complicated inter-agency dynamic.

In spite of its visibility, the foreign ministry in Azerbaijan has not, in recent years, been one of the influential ministries serving as power bases for various political groups. This became especially apparent since the resignation in early 1998 of foreign minister Hasan Hasanov, once a powerful politician. Elmar Mamedyarov replaced Vilayat Guliyev, who is a former MP and a literature professor, not an entrenched political power personality with an extensive clientele. While the appointment shouldn’t have been particularly difficult in terms of domestic politics, its symbolism is significant. Raising the ministry’s profile and prestige domestically thus contributing to transformation of Azerbaijan’s political landscape is one of Mamedyarov’s major challenges.

President Ilham Aliyev has evidently chosen the path of cautious reforms avoiding sweeping moves, which could potentially lead to instability. Bringing a younger career diplomat with extensive international experience and at the same time familiar with the domestic bureaucratic system on board as his foreign minister, Aliyev is acting to solidify the base for such reforms. Therefore, much rides on Elmar Mamedyarov’s shoulders; his performance will not be only a test of diplomatic skills, but also one more test case for the generation of young professionals he represents.