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Today is the 85th anniversary of National Leader of Azerbaijani People Heydar Aliyev

10 May 2008 07:43 (UTC +04:00)

Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev was born on 10 May 1923 in the City of Nakhchivan of Azerbaijan. In 1939, after graduating from the Nakhchivan Pedagogical School he studied at the architectural department of the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute (now the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy). Since 1941, Heydar Aliyev heads the department at the People Commissariat of Internal Affairs of Nakhchivan ASSR and on 1944 was sent to work at the state security bodies. He received special higher education in Leningrad and rose to the rank of general. In 1957 he graduated from the History department of the Azerbaijan State University.
In 1964 he was appointed to the post of deputy chairman, and in 1967 - chairman of the Committee of State Security under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan Republic. In 1969 he was elected as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan and member of the Central Committee bureau. In March 1976, Heydar Aliyev was elected as a candidate member of Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union and in November 1982, he was elected as a member of Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union, and appointed at the post of the First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR.
Heydar Aliyev was the Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and for five years was Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan and member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the republic. Heydar Aliyev was awarded with Lenin order four times, order of Red Star, awarded with numerous medals, got rank of the Hero of the Socialistic Labor twice in 1979 and 1983.
In October 1987, Heydar Aliyev, as a sign of protest against the policy pursued by Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and personally the Secretary General Michael Gorbachev, resigned from his post and took oppositional site. In bound with the bloody tragedy, committed on 20 January 1990 in Baku by the soviet troops, appearing on the next day at the Azerbaijan Representation in Moscow with a statement, he demanded to punish the organizers and executors of the crime, committed against the people of Azerbaijan. As a sign of protest against the hypocritical policy of leadership of the USSR, in connection with the critical conflict accrued in Nagorno Karabakh, in July 1991, he left the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
By return in July 1990 to Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev has lived in Nakhchivan, and on the same year he was elected as the Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan. In 1992, at the constituent congress of the "Yeni Azerbaijan" Party in Nakhchivan, Heydar Aliyev, was elected as the Chairman of the Party.
In 1991-1993s, he held the post of Chairman of the Supreme Mejlis of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On 15 June 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected as the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, and on 24 July - on resolution of the Milli Mejlis, he managed to fulfill powers of the President of Azerbaijan Republic. On October 3, 1993, as the result of nationwide voting, Heydar Aliyev was elected as the President of Azerbaijan Republic.
After Heydar Aliyevâ€™s return to the leadership of Azerbaijan, public-political, social, economic and scientific-cultural life of Azerbaijan changed and process of independent state-building commenced. In October 1994 and in March 1995 coup dâ€™Etat attempts were prevented and socio-political stability was established in the country. The foreign policy of the country and its relationship with the world leading countries and international organizations started to develop on the basis of national interests and far-sighted political prospects. In May 1994, he achieved cease-fire in the front line. In September 1994, oil contract named as the â€œContract of Centuryâ€ was signed in Baku. Successful steps were made in transportation of Azerbaijanâ€™s oil to the world market and Baku-Supsa oil pipeline was commissioned. A contract of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Oil Pipeline was signed and started to be carried out thanks by Heydar Aliyevâ€™s will. Azerbaijan took leading role in the restoration of the Great Silk Road and in the implementation of world communication program on Heydar Aliyevâ€™s initiative. Heydar Aliyev made important contribution to establishing of GUUAM covering Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova and uniting of regional forces within the great geographical space. He put forward successive policy toward the building of legal state and created basis for the establishing of main principles of Human Rights and freedoms in the country. In November 1995, Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted via referendum and in 1995 and 2000 parliament elections took place on the multi-party basis. The Constitutional Court was established and death penalty and media censorship were lifted. In May 1995, the institution of pardoning was restored and in 1995-2002 thousands of prisoners were released on the decrees of pardon and acts of amnesty.
Azerbaijan got a status of â€œspecial guestâ€ at the Council of Europe in June 1996 and became full-fledged member of the organization on January 25, 2001.
Heydar Aliyev was elected the President of Azerbaijan again on October 11, 1998. He signed decrees on passing to Latin alphabet, improving of implementation of the national language, Azerbaijani alphabet and approval of the Day of Azerbaijani Language.
Heydar Aliyev passed away on December 12, 2003 after the siege of illness.