Azerbaijan's energy minister dies at 69

By Abidin Mutlu Bozdag

ISTANBUL

Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev passed away Friday in Istanbul.

He was 69.

After suffering a heart attack last week in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, he was taken to Istanbul’s Florence Nightingale Hospital on June 5.

According to a hospital statement, Aliyev was being treated for cardiac problems when he died of an unexpected cerebral hemorrhage.

Aliyev was the president of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

He also chaired the company’s board of directors from 1993 to 2005.

He became energy minister in 2013.