Our Team in Azerbaijan

Ms. Anna Soave was formally appointed Head of UN-Habitat’s Country Office in Azerbaijan in early April 2024, but has been working in Baku since mid-2023. She is an urban development practitioner with more than 25 years of international experience with a particular focus on post-conflict contexts, low-income informal settlements, and dilapidated historic neighbourhoods. Prior to this appointment, she has worked for many years in Iraq, implementing for UN-Habitat several urban recovery and institutional development programmes, and in Afghanistan, as an urban planner for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), and project manager for a US-based consultancy company. Anna holds an MSc in Building & Urban Design from the Development Planning Unit (DPU) of the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, in London, and a degree in Architecture from the Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

Dr Hande Harmanci took office as WHO Representative and Head of Country Office in Azerbaijan in August 2018. Prior to her appointment, Dr Harmanci worked in various positions in WHO Headquarters in the areas of human resources for health, pandemic preparedness, influenza and viral hepatitis. Previously, she was a professor of public health and community medicine in Marmara University, Istanbul. Dr. Harmanci graduated from Hacettepe University Medical School and holds Doctor of Public Health Degree. She is an amateur ceramicist.

Mr. Nasar Hayat took office as representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Head of FAO Partnership and Liaison Office in Azerbaijan in July 2023.

Mr. Nasar Hayat has more than 25 years of leadership and management experience. He previously served as the FAO Country Representative in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Active in various fields, Mr. Hayat has held many positions in the public sector, including diplomatic posts as Deputy FAO Representative in Pakistan, Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan and Chargé d'affaires in the Maldives.

He has also worked on UN project management, agricultural development, land rights, human rights and gender issues for donors and international organizations. During his tenure, Mr. Hayat worked in important areas such as climate change adaptation, efficient water resources management, and animal disease control.
Nasar Hayat holds a Masters in Law and Development from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Olga V. Koulaeva was appointed Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia on 1 November 2016. Since February 2010, she had served as a Senior Employment Specialist at the ILO DWT/CO for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Ms Koulaeva graduated from the Moscow State University Department of Economics and holds a Ph. D. in Economics. She is fluent in English and Swedish. In 2002-2005, she was Financial Manager and Project Director with the Swedish National Labour Market Board and the Swedish Public Employment Service.

Parvana Bayramova is a Programme Specialist in UN Women Azerbaijan. Prior to this, she worked for the Council of Europe Office in Baku and managed implementation of country projects on gender equality, violence against women and domestic violence. She previously was involved in lecturing and researching on human rights law and running the Legal Aid Clinic on protection of women's rights at Azerbaijan University. She was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University Law Center and holds a PhD in Law from Baku State University. Parvana was a Gender Equality Rapporteur of the 11th edition of the World Forum for Democracy 2023 organized in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe. She is a certified expert of the JRR-UN Women Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Justice Roster on Investigating cases of SGBV as international crimes.

Dr. Shkolnikov is the Senior Human Rights Adviser for the South Caucasus, OHCHR, since July 2011. Prior to this, he held positions with various European civil society organizations. He served as the Head of Democratization Department and the Adviser on Migration and Freedom of Movement at OSCE/ODIHR in Warsaw. Dr Shkolnikov also held the position of Resident Research Consultant at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California. He earned his Ph. D. and Master’s Degree in Public Policy Analysis at the RAND Graduate School of Policy Studies in Santa Monica.