Background and career
Polad Bulbuloghlu (Azerbaijani: Polad Bülbüloğlu; born February 4, 1945) is a Soviet and Azerbaijani singer, actor, politician, and diplomat. Bulbuloghlu became famous in the Soviet Union with composing jazz-influenced songs with heavy Azerbaijani folk influences in Azerbaijani and Russian languages. He also sang his own songs. Three of his songs became Songs of the Year and he received numerous prestigious awards in the Soviet Union. Bulbuloghlu is a lyrical tenor.
In the late 1990s, despite having a huge success with a new version arranged by Paul Buckmaster of his old song Gəl Ey Səhər (Come, Hey Morning!) in Turkey and sold-out concerts in Russia, Bulbuloghlu started a political career. He became the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia and member of the Parliament of Azerbaijan.
In 2017, he was a candidate for the post of Director-General of UNESCO. He withdrew his candidacy on October 10 after getting only 2 votes in the first round of the election.
