Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy
The Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy named after Heydar Aliyev (, ) is an educational institution of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. In order to be admitted into the academy, candidates have to be between the ages of 17 and 19 and have completed secondary school education. Background. The predecessor institution to the current academy was the Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School (BVOKU), which was founded on 29 November 1939 as one of many military academies of the Soviet Army. By 1951, the developing school was ranked 6th place among the best infantry schools in the USSR. The school  was disbanded in 1991 as a result of the fall of the Soviet Union. Among the notable alumni of the BVOKU are former Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan, Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Zakir Hasanov and Armenian military leader during the Karabakh War Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan. Development. The BVOKU was replaced the following year by the Baku High Joint Commanders School, which was created to meet the Azerbaijani military's needs. Some of the first graduates of the school took part in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War until it ended in the summer of 1994. Since 1997, the admission  and teaching standards have been implemented in accordance with contemporary education standards. President Heydar Aliyev on 20 August 2001 renamed the school to its current name. His son, President Ilham Aliyev added the honorary name of Heydar Aliyev to the school's full name in March 2004, following his father's death just 3 months before. By presidential decree of 24 December 2015, the Azerbaijan Higher Naval Academy and the Azerbaijan High Military Aviation School were abolished and transferred to the Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy with the establishment of the corresponding faculties there. Present day. Graduates of the school are  awarded a Bachelor's degree the rank of "leytenant" upon their commission into the armed forces. Student life. In August 2019, the academy military band, led by Colonel Ekhtibar Aliyev, took part in the Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo, representing Azerbaijan for the first time. In 2020, it was among the units that took part in the Baku Victory Parade in honor of the victory in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.