On March 1, on the occasion of the 106th anniversary of the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC), the leadership and staff of the Agency visited the Alley of Honor to pay tribute to the National Leader, the architect and founder of our modern independent state, Heydar Aliyev, and placed bouquets of flowers at his grave.
The memory of the prominent ophthalmologist and scientist, Academician Zarifa Aliyeva, was also honored with fresh flowers placed upon her grave. They also laid flowers at the graves of the renowned statesman Aziz Aliyev and the distinguished physician-scientist Tamerlan Aliyev.
Subsequently, the team visited the grave of Hasan bey Zardabi, the founder of the Azerbaijani national press, and laid floral arrangements. Floral tributes were also placed before the bust of National Leader Heydar Aliyev located within the Agency's building.
AZERTAC, founded on March 1, 1920, by the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, has traveled a complex, difficult, and honorable path as the first national news agency. On March 2 of that year, the first news items were published in the "Azerbaijan" newspaper under the "AzerTac" signature. As a legacy of the Republic era, AZERTAC was able to exist as an independent news source for only 58 days. During the period of the former USSR, AZERTAC operated under various names. After Azerbaijan restored its state independence, the Agency's historical name was returned - it was named the State Telegraph Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers from March 3, 1995, and the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency from January 17, 2000. By the Decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev on February 26, 2015, the name of the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency was changed to the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC).
Guided by the recommendations of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, the Agency’s staff continues the noble patriotic traditions of national journalism with dignity while working resolutely to strengthen its place in the global media landscape. The Agency currently broadcasts news in eight languages – Azerbaijani, English, Russian, German, French, Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish – and, for the first time in the region, distributes video news in five languages.
