Maleyka Abbaszadeh

Maleyka Abbaszadeh
Born	Maleyka Mehdi qizi Mustafayeva 1953 Baku, Azerbaijan
Occupation(s)	Mathematician, Chairperson of the State Students Admission Commission of Azerbaijan
Years active	1975–present
Known for	Chairperson of the State Students Admission Commission of Azerbaijan

Maleyka Mehdi qizi Abbaszadeh (, née Mustafayeva, born in 1953 in Baku) currently serves as the Chairperson of the State Students Admission Commission of Azerbaijan.

Career

Abbaszadeh, a native of Baku, completed her studies at Moscow State University in 1975, earning a degree in calculus and cybernetics. She gained practical experience through internships at both the Institute of Cybernetics of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Calculus Mathematics within the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1988, she successfully defended her master's thesis specializing in cybernetics at the Institute of Cybernetics under the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Up until 1994, she was actively involved in multiple educational initiatives across governmental and non-governmental sectors.

Her appointment as Deputy Chair of the newly formed State Students Admission Commission (SSAC) came in 1994, where she managed nationwide university entrance examinations. In October 2000, Abbaszadeh was elevated to Chairperson of the SSAC. Throughout her tenure, she openly criticized educational policies implemented by former Minister Misir Mardanov, highlighting a downward trend in applicant exam results. She also raised concerns regarding the fairness and openness of Ministry-organized competitions such as Best School and Best Teacher in 2012, questioned official student enrollment statistics reported in 2013, and pointed out notable inaccuracies found in textbooks authorized by the Ministry.

Certain opposition outlets interpreted Abbaszadeh’s public critiques as part of an initiative led by the Presidential Administration aimed at ousting Mardanov, who was succeeded by Mikayil Jabbarov as Minister of Education on 19 April 2013.

Personal life

Abbaszadeh was married to Ilgar Abbaszadeh, with whom she has two daughters. One of their daughters, Nargiz Birk-Petersen, gained recognition as one of the three hosts for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 held in Baku.