Commemorating Heydar Aliyev: 21 years since Azerbaijan lost its national leader

Today marks the 21st anniversary of the passing of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev.

Heydar Alirza Aliyev was born on May 10, 1923, in the city of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, Caliber.Az reports.  

In 1939, after graduating from the Nakhchivan Pedagogical School, he enrolled in the architecture faculty of the Azerbaijan Industry Institute (now the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University).

However, the onset of war interrupted his education. In 1941, Heydar Aliyev became the head of a department in the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

In 1944, he began working in state security bodies. From 1964, he served as the deputy chairman, and from 1967, the chairman of the Committee of State Security under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. During this time, he achieved the rank of lieutenant general. He also pursued higher education, completing his studies at the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Special Higher Education Institution and graduating in 1957 from the history faculty of the Azerbaijan State University.

In July 1969, Heydar Aliyev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, becoming the head of the republic. In December 1982, he was elected a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and appointed First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, becoming one of the Soviet Union's top leaders. Over two decades, Heydar Aliyev served as an MP in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and was Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet for five years.

In October 1987, Heydar Aliyev resigned in protest against the policies of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, led by Secretary-General Mikhail Gorbachev.

Following the tragic events of January 20, 1990, when Soviet troops committed a massacre in Baku, Heydar Aliyev issued a statement the next day at the Azerbaijani Representation in Moscow, demanding justice for the organizers and perpetrators of this crime against the Azerbaijani people.

In July 1991, in protest against the USSR leadership's hypocritical policies and the escalating conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, he left the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Returning to Azerbaijan in July 1990, he initially resided in Baku and later in Nakhchivan. That same year, he was elected an MP to the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 1993, he served as Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan and as Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan.

In 1992, Heydar Aliyev was elected Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party at its founding congress in Nakhchivan.

In May and June 1993, when Azerbaijan faced the threat of civil war and loss of independence due to a severe political crisis, the people called for Heydar Aliyev’s return to power. The leaders of Azerbaijan at the time formally invited him to Baku. On June 15, 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, and on July 24, 1993, the Milli Majlis authorized him to assume the powers of the President. On October 3, 1993, he was elected President of Azerbaijan through a nationwide vote.

On October 11, 1998, he was re-elected President, securing 76.1% of the vote in an election with high voter turnout.

In 2003, while consenting to be nominated for the presidential election scheduled for October 15, Heydar Aliyev later withdrew his candidacy due to health issues. On December 12, 2003, the national leader passed away at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States.

Heydar Aliyev was a recipient of numerous honours, including four Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Star, and various other medals. He was twice awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labour and received accolades and decorations from several foreign countries.

He was also a professor and a full member of the Academy of Safety, Defence, and Legal Norms Problems of the Russian Federation. In addition, he received the Y.V. Andropov Award and the Order of Saint Andrew the First-Called, Russia’s highest order. On January 20, 2001, Heydar Aliyev was named an Honorary Professor of Moscow State University.

By Aghakazim Guliyev