Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

Vahid Hajiyev was born on February 14, 1928 in Shusha. In 1943, Vahid Hajiyev graduated from high school. In 1943-1947 he studied in the field of field cultivation of the Azerbaijan Agricultural Institute, in 1949-1952 - in graduate school of the Institute of Botany of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

In 1952 Vahid Hajiyev defended his Ph.D., in 1966 - his doctoral dissertation, in 1970 he received the title of Professor. In 1983 he was elected as corresponding member and in 1989 - as active member of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences.

Vahid Hajiyev, who started his career in 1952 as a senior researcher at the Institute of Botany of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, in 1957-1958 he was Acting Director of the Botanical Garden, in 1957-1972 - Deputy Director of the Institute of Botany for Research, in 1972, 1973 - Director of the Research Institute for Fodder, Meadowland and Pastures of the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan.

From 1972 until the end of his life he worked at the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, held the post of head of the department of geobotany, in 1978-1988 was Deputy Director of this Institute for scientific affairs, and in 1988-2008 - as Director.

The long-term consistent and purposeful Vahid Hajiyev’s scientific work covering mainly a comprehensive and accurate geobotanical study of the high-mountain meadows of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus and Azerbaijan is of great importance from the point of view of the development of this scientific field in our country. Vahid Hajiyev paid a wide place in his works to the most diverse areas of geobotany, including issues of zoning, mapping, classification, plant resources and their protection. For a long time he also dealt with problems of other branches of botany - the systematics of flora, the study of vegetation, useful plant resources, unique and endangered plant species. He actively participated in various floristic, systematic and other expeditions, especially in the experiments "Sun-84" and "Sun-85", scientifically proved compliance with the law of the location of plant formations. Under his leadership, the study of winter and summer pastures of Azerbaijan was developed, scientific bases for their protection, reproduction and rational use were developed.

In 1979 and 1987, V.Hajiyev compiled maps of the "Vegetative cover of Azerbaijan" on a different scale, for the first time the vegetation of high-mountain meadows was classified and merged.

He gave a new systematic analysis of 85 species from 25 rocks in the multi-volume fundamental work Flora of Azerbaijan. The results of Vakhid Hajiyev's research were reflected in more than 230 scientific works published in the republic and abroad, including 12 monographs. Under the guidance of the scientist, 5 doctoral and 40 candidate dissertations were defended.

Academician V.Hajiyev was awarded the Medal "For Selfless Work" (1970), the Order "The Badge of Honor" (1981), was awarded the Honorary Certificate of ANAS, the ecological award named after Academician Hasan Aliyev (1992).

Academician Vahid Aliyev died on April 7, 2008 in Baku.