Anar Karimov was born in 1979 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
In 1999 and 2002, he graduated with distinction from Baku State University, earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in International Law. In 2001, he also obtained a Master’s degree in International Economic Law from American University in Washington, D.C., USA.
He began his professional career in 2001 as a Legal Counsel at the U.S.–Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce in the United States. From 2002 to 2005, he served as an Attaché and later Third Secretary at the Department of Economic Cooperation and Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Between 2005 and 2006, he worked as Third Secretary at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Switzerland. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Senior Legal Counsel for Türkiye and Central Asia at the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia. Between 2010 and 2011, he held the positions of Deputy Head and later Head of the Foreign Investments and Economic Relations Departments at the Ministry of Economic Development. From 2011 to 2018, he worked as an expert on international projects and held senior executive positions in the private sector.
He is a member of the Azerbaijan Bar Association, a co-founder of the Azerbaijan–British Lawyers Association, and has served as Vice President of the Azerbaijan–Italy Chamber of Commerce.
Holding a PhD (Candidate of Legal Sciences), Mr. Karimov also taught in the English-language Master’s program at the Faculty of Law of Baku State University.
From 2019 to 2025, he served as Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
By the Presidential Decree of 15 April 2025, he was appointed First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Republic of Azerbaijan.