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Zuleyha SeyidmamedovaSoviet fighter pilot, aviation captain
Date of Birth: 22.03.1919
Country:  Azerbaijan |
Content:
Biography of Zuleikha Seyidmamedova
Early Life and EducationZuleikha Seyidmamedova was born on March 22, 1919, in Baku, Azerbaijan. She attended school together with her mother and developed a passion for aviation sports. After completing her schooling, Zuleikha enrolled in a medical institute and also studied at the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute.
Aviation Career
In the spring of 1934, Zuleikha joined the Baku Aeroclub and became a pilot in October of the same year. She became the first Azerbaijani woman to become a pilot and a parachuting instructor. In August 1935, she was awarded the qualification of a parachuting instructor after the First All-Union Parachutist Rally in Moscow. In January 1936, she received the Order of Honor during a ceremony commemorating the 15th anniversary of Soviet power in Azerbaijan.
Zuleikha continued her aviation career, becoming an instructor pilot at the Baku Aeroclub in 1936. In 1938, she graduated from the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute with a degree in geological engineering. She then applied to the N.E. Zhukovsky Military Air Academy. Despite being admitted as an exception, she successfully passed the exams and joined the navigator faculty.
Role in World War II
In May 1941, Zuleikha completed her studies at the academy and was appointed as a navigator in the training aviation regiment. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, her regiment was converted into a combat unit and included in the Moscow air defense system. Towards the end of 1941, she was appointed as a navigator in the newly created 586th Women's Fighter Aviation Regiment. She participated in aerial battles in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and the Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya Operation. Zuleikha was awarded the Order of the Great Patriotic War, 2nd Class, for her bravery and achievements. Throughout the war, she flew over 500 combat missions and engaged in more than 40 aerial battles in her Yak-9 fighter aircraft.
Post-War Career
After the war, Zuleikha returned to Baku and initially worked as an instructor for the Baku City Party Committee. In September 1946, she was elected as the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol) in Azerbaijan, a position she held until 1951. She was also elected as a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1947. From 1951 to 1974, Zuleikha served as the Minister of Social Welfare. She also held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Azerbaijan Society for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.
For her outstanding achievements in her work and remarkable contributions to society, Zuleikha Seyidmamedova was awarded the Order of Lenin. She received several other orders and medals, including two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, two Orders of the Badge of Honor, the Order of the Red Star, and the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class.
