Academician Vali Akhundov

Vali Yusif oghlu Akhundov was born on May 14, 1916, in the village of Saray, Baku Governorate, into a peasant family. He received his initial education in his native village. Despite the school being located a considerable distance from his residence, his daily commute on foot did not prevent him from achieving high academic results. After completing school in 1929, he continued his education at a factory school in Bilajari station, and upon graduating from vocational school in 1931, he enrolled in the Baku Industrial Technical School. He graduated from the chemical department of the technical school in 1935 and qualified as a chemical technician. To obtain higher education, he first attended preparatory courses at the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute and then, in 1937, enrolled in the Azerbaijan Medical Institute.

During his years of study at the institute, he was also actively involved in public activities. He worked as a research assistant in the Department of Social Sciences, served as the editor of the newspaper "For Medical Cadres," and held the position of secretary of the Komsomol committee. After successfully graduating from the institute in 1941, he was called up for military service and participated in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Serving as part of the 20th Rifle Division, Vali Akhundov rose from the rank of a general practitioner to the commander of a special medical-sanitary battalion, participating in battles on the territories of Russia, Belarus, Germany, and Czechoslovakia.

Following his discharge from the army in 1946, he returned to Baku and began working as an assistant in the Department of History of Medicine at the Azerbaijan Medical Institute. He later worked as a research associate at the Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology, Microbiology, and Hygiene and subsequently as its head. From 1946 to 1949, he served as the chairman of the Republican Committee of the Azerbaijan Trade Union of Medical Workers.

From 1949 to 1952, he served as the Deputy Minister of Health of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1952–1953, he was the Head of the Baku Province Health Department. From 1953 to 1954, he held the position of Deputy Head of the Department of Administrative, Trade-Financial, and Planning Organs at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. During his tenure as the Minister of Health of the Azerbaijan SSR from 1954 to 1958, he led the development and implementation of systematic measures to study the sanitary-epidemiological situation, protect public health, and improve medical services. The sanitary improvements implemented in cities and villages at his initiative were also adopted in other union republics.

In January 1958, he was elected as one of the secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. In July of the same year, he was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR, a position he held until July 1959. From 1959 to 1969, he was the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. During this period, production volumes in the republic's industrial and agricultural sectors increased, with oil production, in particular, reaching high levels.

Despite holding responsible positions in state administration, Vali Akhundov continued his scientific activities. He defended his candidate dissertation in 1956 and his doctoral dissertation in 1964, and was awarded the academic title of Professor in 1966. In 1969, he was elected an academician of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. From that year, he focused his primary attention on scientific work, and from 1969 to 1972, he led the development of the healthcare sector as Vice-President of the Academy.

His scientific interests encompassed areas such as social hygiene, medical cybernetics, the interactions between human health and environmental factors, and the circulation of pesticides in food products. Research in these fields facilitated the development of scientifically grounded measures to reduce population morbidity.

From 1972 to 1986, he was the head of the G. M. Musabeyov Institute of Virology, Microbiology, and Hygiene. During his tenure, the institute expanded its scientific research directions, implemented modern methodologies, and strengthened its material and technical base. An additional building was constructed for the institute, equipped with modern medical equipment. During this period, scientific conferences were organized in English for the first time in the republic.
Vali Akhundov placed particular emphasis on the training of scientific personnel. Under his supervision, numerous candidate and doctoral dissertations were defended. He is the author of 5 monographs, 11 booklets, and over 150 scientific works, as well as more than 350 popular science articles and speeches dedicated to socio-political and economic topics.

Within the scope of his public activities, he participated in the work of various scientific societies, committees, and commissions, and led the scientific society of Azerbaijani hygienists and sanitary doctors. He was repeatedly elected as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR and the USSR. He was a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR.

He was awarded several orders and medals for his many years of scientific, socio-political, and organizational activity, as well as for his services in the Great Patriotic War.

Academician Vali Akhundov died in Baku on August 22, 1986, and was buried in the Alley of Honor.

Recommended literature:

1. Rəhimzadə, Mirvari Əziz qızı. Görkəmli dövlət xadimi Vəli Axundov : yaddaşlardan və arxivlərdən boylanan ömür / M. Ə. Rəhimzadə ; red. V. M. Məmmədəliyev. - Bakı : Nurlar NPM, 2014. - 192 s.
2. Akademik Vəli Axundovun anadan olmasının 90 illik yubileyinə həsr olunmuş Respublika Elmi konfransının məcmuəsi / Ş. N. Abdullayev, V. H. Hüseynov, R. F. Axundov [et al.] ; baş red. N. N. Əliyev ; red. heyəti: K. Kərimzadə [et al.] ; Azərbaycan Respublikası Səhiyyə Nazirliyi [et al.]. - Bakı : Nasir, 2006. - 263 s.
3. Zamanın işığında canlanan portret - Vəli Axundov /Azərb. Resp. Mədəniyyət və Turizm Nazirliyi ; tərt. N. Axundova ; red. A. Yaşar ; məsləhətçi S. Babullaoğlu. - Bakı: Şərq-Qərb, 2016. - 235 s.
4. Портрет на фоне эпохи - Вели Ахундов /ред.-сост. Н. Ахундова ; авт. исторического очерка И. Велизаде ; ред. исторического очерка Н. Мамедзаде. - Баку: Шарг-Гарб, 2016. – 271 с.