Born in 1980 in Baku, Mr. Sahil Babayev graduated with a Bachelor’s degree (2000) and a Master’s degree (2002) in International Law from Baku State University. Later in 2010, he obtained a Ph.D. in Law from the same university. He is fluent in English, Russian and Turkish, and has a good command of French.
From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Babayev worked as a Senior Specialist and subsequently as the Head of the Foreign Investments Department at the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). During this time, he has participated in the development of Production Sharing Agreements for several upstream projects, the Shah Deniz natural gas sales agreements, as well as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline midstream contracts.
Between 2006-2009, he has served as the Assistant to the Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis (the Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan and acted as the Coordinator of the EU-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary Cooperation Committee and the Committee for Natural Resources, Energy and Environment.
From 2009, Mr. Babayev was appointed as the Head of the Foreign Investments and Aid Coordination Department of the Ministry of Economic Development and from 2011 as the Head of the Department on Cooperation with International Organizations.
At the same time, he was the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Tamiz Shahar JSC (state-owned waste management company) in 2009-2014, co-chaired the EU-Azerbaijan committee on trade and economy, headed the Program Management Unit for European Union Assistance Instruments, and was a member of the Board of Directors of SOCAR Turkey Aegean Oil Refinery project.
Mr. Babayev has served as a lecturer at the International Law Faculty of Baku State University, delivered speeches on various subjects at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, and participated in various training and courses in international and contract law in England, France, and other countries. He is the author of dissertations and monographs on the topics of international oil contracts, Production Sharing Agreements, international and national legal regulations and international legal processes and proceedings.
On March 13, 2014, Mr. Babayev was appointed Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry by the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and was re-appointed to the same role on January 30, 2016. During his tenure, among other activities, he oversaw foreign economic policy and trade representations, Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), the Coordinating Council on Transit Freight, the Southern Gas Corridor project, chaired the Supervisory Board of AzerGold CJSC, was a member of the Supervisory Board of International Bank of Azerbaijan as well as of SOCAR Turkey Aegean Oil Refinery project.
He was a Co-Chair of Intergovernmental Commissions with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Argentina, and Brazil, a Co-Chair of the Azerbaijan-Iran Working Group on financing the Rasht-Astara section of the North-South Corridor, and also a member of the Intergovernmental Commissions with 19 countries.
Mr. Babayev was appointed Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan as of April 21, 2018.
At present, he also oversees a number of public entities, such as the Social Protection Fund (Pension Fund), Employment Agency, Labor Inspectorate, Medical Social Expertise and Rehabilitation Agency, Social Services Agency as well as “DOST” Agency (a one-stop-shop for all social and employment services), and chairs Intergovernmental Commissions with Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro as well as the State Commission for Examination of Commercial Law at Baku State University.
Mr. Babayev is a member of the New Azerbaijan Party and is a reserve officer.
He is married and has three children.