Arif Mammadov (ambassador)

He obtained a degree on Oriental Studies at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages (VKIMO) in Moscow, where he studied from 1983-1988. In 1993, Arif Mammadov took a Post-Graduate Course of European and World Affairs at Clingendael, Netherlands Institute of International Relations in Hague. A year later he underwent a monthly Diplomatic Course in the Center for Political and Diplomatic Studies in London, United Kingdom.

Arif Mammadov started his career at the City Council of Baku, Azerbaijan. There he served as a Senior Adviser at the Department of International Affairs from March 1991 till June 1992. In 1993 he joined the Department of State Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. From 1994 to 1995 he was the 2nd Secretary at the Department of Europe, USA, and Canada. In 1995, Arif Mammadov was appointed as the 2nd Secretary to the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Kingdom of Belgium. In 1998, he became the 1st Secretary and from 1999 to 2000 he held the position of the Counselor.

In the year of 2000, Arif Mammadov became the Head of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the European Union with an office in Brussels, Belgium. He held the position till 2006. At the same time, he was the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the Kingdom of Belgium, Kingdom of Netherlands and Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg from 2004 to 2006. From January 2007 to September 2012 Arif Mammadov was assigned as the Head of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.[1] During this appointment, he chaired a number of high level conferences organized by the Council of Europe and its member states. In 2008-2010 he was a Thematic Coordinator on Information Policy of the Council of Europe. He also was a Chair of the Rapporteur Group on Education, Culture, Sport, Youth, and Environment of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and a Member of the Governing Board of European Wergeland Center in the years of 2010-2012. IN 2011-2012 he was a Co-Chair of the Council of Europe Exchange on Religious Dimension of Intercultural Dialogue. In the years of 2012-2013 he joined again the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan as the Head of Department of Human Rights and Democracy.

Since June 2013 he heads (as their first EU Ambassador) the Mission to the EU of the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).[2][3] On behalf of the Mission, he directs his efforts, first of all, to establishing strong political and economic relations with the European Union and cooperating in the field of human rights, humanitarian aid, inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, combating terrorism and islamophobia.[4]

From 2008 to 2012 he was a member of the Governing Board of the Oslo-based European Wergeland Centre,[5] a European resource centre on education for intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic citizenship.

He advocates for active youth involvement in international affairs, thus initiating a number of projects for youth.

Besides politics, he is interested in sports and music. Along with his native Azerbaijani language, Arif Mammadov is also fluent in Turkish, English, Russian, French and Amharic/Ethiopian.