The Hero of the Patriotic War (Azerbaijani: Vətən Müharibəsi Qəhrəmanı) is the highest title in Azerbaijan.

[4] On 11 November 2020, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, at a meeting with wounded Azerbaijani servicemen who took part in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, said that new orders and medals would be established in Azerbaijan, and that he gave appropriate instructions on awarding civilians and servicemen who showed "heroism on the battlefield and in the rear and distinguished themselves in this war."

[6] The Hero of the Patriotic War Medal was established on the same day in the first reading in accordance with the bill "On the establishment of orders and medals of the Republic of Azerbaijan" on the occasion of Azerbaijan being the victor in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

[7] On 9 December, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to award 83 servicemen, 34 of them posthumously with the title of the Hero of the Patriotic War.

The awardees included Hikmat Mirzayev, the commander of the special forces, Ilham Mehdiyev, the deputy chief of the State Border Service, as well as the officers Namig Islamzadeh, Kanan Seyidov, and Zaur Mammadov.