Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday appointed his wife to the post of vice president. Mehriban is the first to hold this post after it was created in September last year. The appointment will allow Mehriban assume leadership of the country if the president dies or becomes incapacitated.

As the vice president, Mehriban is expected to monitor the working of the Cabinet. However, the nation's constitution has not clearly chalked out her duties, reported AP.

The appointment has come under severe criticism from Aliyev's opposition. They said that the referendum in September sealed a dynastic rule in Azerbaijan. "The move throws Azerbaijan back to medieval, feudal times," Musavat party leader Isa Gambar told AFP.

-Agencies