| Heydar Aliyev Heydər Əliyev |
|
|---|---|
| 3rd President of the Republic of Azerbaijan | |
| In office 24 June 1993 – 31 October 2003 |
|
| Prime Minister | Surat Huseynov Fuad Guliyev Artur Rasizade Ilham Aliyev |
| Preceded by | Abulfaz Elchibey |
| Succeeded by | Ilham Aliyev |
| Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan | |
| In office 24 June 1993 – 5 November 1993 |
|
| Preceded by | Isa Gambar |
| Succeeded by | Rasul Guliyev |
| First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union | |
| In office 24 November 1982 – 23 October 1987 |
|
| Premier | Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Ryzhkov |
| Preceded by | Ivan Arkhipov |
| Succeeded by | Andrei Gromyko |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 May 1923 Nakhchivan ASSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 13 December 2003 (aged 80) Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Nationality | Azerbaijani |
| Political party | CPSU |
| Spouse(s) | Zarifa Aliyeva |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
| Signature | |
Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, Russian: Гейдар Алиевич Алиев; 10 May 1923[1] – 12 December 2003), also spelled as Heidar Aliev, Geidar Aliev, Haydar Aliyev, Geydar Aliyev was the third President of Azerbaijan for the New Azerbaijan Party from June 1993 to October 2003, when his son Ilham Aliyev succeeded him.
From 1969 to 1982, Aliyev was also the leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, practically dominating the political life of Azerbaijan for over many years. He was married to Zarifa Aliyeva, who died in 1985, and was survived by his son and daughter.
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The details of much of Aliyev's early life remain obscure. According to his hagographical website he was born in Nakhchivan City,[2] however, other sources report that he was born in the Sisian area of Zangezur region,[3] an area that now falls within Armenia. After the graduation from Nakhchivan Pedagogical School, from 1939 till 1941, Aliyev attended the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute (now the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy) where he studied architecture. In 1949-50, he studied at the USSR MGB Officer Corps Qualifications-Raising School. Aliyev's official biography also claims that he studied at the Baku State University, graduating with a degree in history in 1957. However, it seems that he actually attended the Ministry of State Security Academy in Leningrad.
Aliyev joined the Azerbaijan SSR People's Commissariat for State Security (NKGB) in 1944. In 1954, upon the government reform, NKGB became known as Committee for State Security, or the KGB. Aliyev rose quickly within the agency to the rank of Major-General,[4] became a deputy chairman of Azerbaijani KGB in 1964, and the chairman of this organization in 1967.
In 1969, Aliyev was appointed by Leonid Brezhnev to the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee of Azerbaijan Communist Party amidst a Soviet anti-corruption campaign,[5][6] Aliyev had made some progress in fight against corruption, a number of people were sentenced to prison terms; and, in 1975, five factory and collective farm managers were sentenced to death for gross corruption.[7] In early 1980s, Aliyev closed the republic's law school to the offspring of certain legal personnel in a purported effort to curb a self-perpetuating elite based on corruption. . In 1977 even Brezhnevs time he twice visited Iran, Mashhad and Kerbala once.[8]
During his leadership of Soviet Azerbaijan, Aliyev did not develop a commitment to the modernization of social structures, but his efforts led to considerably increased economic growth rates in Azerbaijan SSR.[9] Aliyev became perhaps the most successful republican leader, raising the profile of the underprivileged republic and consistently promoting Azerbaijanis to senior posts.[10] This came at the cost of flattering Brezhnev with lavish gifts and receptions during his three visits to Azerbaijan SSR.[10] On one occasion, Aliyev gave him a diamond ring, with one large stone in the middle - Brezhnev - surrounded by 15 smaller ones, symbolizing the constituent Soviet Republics, worth estimated 226,000 roubles.[11]
On 22 November 1982, Yuri Andropov promoted Aliyev from candidate to full member of Soviet Politburo[12] and appointed him to the post of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR,[13] responsible for transportation and social services. Aliyev thus attained the highest position ever reached by an Azerbaijani in the Soviet Union.[14] Aliyev was forced to resign from this position in 1987 amidst the alleged corruption charges by Mikhail Gorbachev.[14]
As head of the KGB's branch in Azerbaijan, he ran an anti-corruption campaign masked to purge his opponents.[15][16][17] Following the purge, Aliyev soon became the undisputed leader of Azerbaijan. During this time, Aliyev was enriched and venerated by developing prominent ties with the Azeri mafia. Aliyev, with the help of the Azeri mafia, earned the profits from the Caspian Sea caviar, Sumgait oil, fruits and vegetables, cotton and customs and transport industries of Azerbaijan.[15][16] In order to remain as undisputed leader of Azerbaijan, Aliyev paid "bribes" to Brezhnev in the form of gifts such as a "Sun-king" diamond ring that was worth up to 226,000 rubles.[15][16][17] When two Moscow prosecutors investigated the Azeri mafia, one was tried and expelled from the Communist party and the other was convicted and shot.[15] He also became a candidate (non-voting) member of the Soviet Politburo in 1976. He occupied this position until December 1982 when Yuri Andropov promoted him to the post of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers.[15]
His stardom waned following his appointment in 1985 under the rule of Mikhail Gorbachev. His political views became a "liability" in the era of perestroika, but he still exerted tremendous power in Azerbaijan. An Azeri prosecutor named Gamboi Mamedov investigated Aliyev's corruption and ties with the mafia, despite the persecutions of all his relatives in Azerbaijan. Aliyev had him fired and denounced. This led to the mass suicide of a number of Azeri mafia members, as well as 'mysterious' deaths of a number of Aliyev's lieutenants.[15] In October 1987, Gorbachev mounted a clear-out of the Brezhnevite old guard and forced Aliyev to resign from the Politburo "for reasons of health".[18]
George Soros speculated that the first pogroms against Armenians in Azerbaijan were instigated by the local mafia which was controlled by Aliyev, in order to create a situation that was detrimental for Gorbachev regardless of the outcome.[19]
Aliyev dominated the political life of Azerbaijan for over 30 years, but left his oil-rich country with a problematic legacy of gross corruption.
Much of the late-Soviet violence towards Armenia has been attributed, by insiders, to be a byproduct of the Aliyev leadership.
After his forced retirement in 1987, Aliyev remained in Moscow till 1990. He suffered a heart attack during this time. Aliyev briefly appeared in the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan SSR in Moscow, opposing the Soviet reassertion of control in Baku,[20] a military action which resulted in violent Black January events amidst the brewing Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Almost immediately after this public appearance in Moscow, Aliyev officially denounced his membership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and left Moscow for his native Nakhchivan. Here, Aliyev reinvented himself as a moderate nationalist and was subsequently elected as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR in Baku. Under the pressure and criticism from the groups connected to his nemesis, then-leader of Soviet Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutallibov, Aliyev again returned to Nakhchivan, where he was elected a Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in 1991.
By December 1991, when Soviet Union ceased to exist and Azerbaijan became formally an independent state, despite Mutallibov's presidency, Aliyev independently governed Nakhchivan. The period of early 1992 was marked by increased violence in Nagorno-Karabakh War, further fueled by Khojaly Massacre and the fall of Shusha, the last Azerbaijani-populated town in Nagorno-Karabakh. These events resulted in resignation of Ayaz Mutallibov and subsequent rise to power of Azerbaijan Popular Front led by Abulfaz Elchibey. During Elchibey's one year in power, Aliyev continued to govern Nakhchivan without any subordination to official government in Baku. The attempt by Popular Front's Minister of Interior Isgandar Hamidov to forcefully overthrow Aliyev in Nakhchivan were thwarted by local militia in Nakhchivan's airport. During the same period, Aliyev independently negotiated cease-fire agreement in Nakhchivan with then Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossian.
On 9 June 1993, after the military coup in Ganja, led by Colonel Suret Huseynov, Abulfaz Elchibey was forced to invite Heydar Aliyev to Baku for mediating the crisis. On 24 June 1993, amidst the advancement of insurgent forces under Huseynov's control towards Baku, Elchibey fled the city to his native village of Keleki in Nakhchivan. At the same time, Aliyev was elected to become a Chairman of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, also assuming temporary presidential powers.[21] In August 1993, Elchibey was stripped of his presidency by the nationwide referendum and Aliyev was elected a President of Azerbaijan in October 1993.
Aliyev also tried but failed to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh War, which, by the end of summer 1993, resulted in the loss of some 20%[22] of Azerbaijan's territory, estimated 30,000 deaths and displacement of over 600,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis.[22] Attempting a military counter offensive in December 1993, Azerbaijani forces managed to return control of parts of Fuzuli and Khojavend rayons, but failed to succeed in Kalbajar direction, ending up with heavy human losses. In May 1994, Aliyev settled for a ceasefire agreement which remains in force till now. The issue remains unresolved, with Armenian military control over Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent seven rayons of Azerbaijan, about 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Azerbaijan as a result of the war.
On 13 March 1995, an armed insurrection aimed at bringing Aliyev down was staged by the special unit of Interior troops ("OMON") under the leadership of Colonel Rovshan Javadov. Four days later, on 17 March 1995, the units of Azerbaijani Armed Forces surrounded the insurgents in their camp and assaulted it, killing Javadov.
Later, the Turkish parliamentary report on the 1996 Susurluk scandal revealed some details of the involvement of Turkish government, led by then prime-minister Tansu Ciller, and the Turkish intelligence in this coup attempt.
Aliyev's health began to fail in 1999, when he had a major heart bypass operation in the United States at the Cleveland Clinic. He later had prostate surgery and a hernia operation. He suffered a collapse while giving a speech on live television in April 2003. On 6 August Aliyev returned to the United States for treatment for congestive heart failure and kidney problems. He stood down from the presidency at the start of October 2003, but in an extremely controversial move appointed his son Ilham as his party's sole presidential candidate. On 12 December 2003, President Heydar Aliyev died in the Cleveland Clinic.[23] He was buried at the Fakhri Khiyaban (The Alley of Honor) cemetery in Baku.
Ilham Aliyev duly won the presidential election of 15 October 2003 but international observers again criticized the contest as falling well below expected standards.[24] This transfer of power became the first case of top-level dynastic succession in the former Soviet Union.[25]
Throughout his life, Heydar Aliyev was awarded and decorated with numerous awards. Heydar Aliyev was awarded with the Order of Lenin four times, the Order of the Red Star once and Hero of the Socialist Labor twice. On 27 March 1997 in Kiev, Ukraine, Aliyev was awarded with the supreme order of Ukraine, the Yaroslav Mudry order. On 13 April 1999, President Heydar Aliyev was awarded with the supreme order of Turkey, the "Peace Premium of Atatürk" order. On 3 April 2003, he was elected professor and authorized member of the Academy of Safety of the Russian Federation, and was subsequently given the premium of Y.V.Andropov. On 10 May 2003, he was decorated with the order of Saint Apostle Andrey Pervozvanny, which is the supreme order of Russia.[1]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Vali Akhundov |
First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party 1969–1982 |
Succeeded by Kamran Bagirov |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by none |
Parliamentary Chairman of Nakhchivan 1991–1993 |
Succeeded by Vasif Talibov |
| Preceded by Abulfaz Elchibey |
President of Azerbaijan 1993–2003 |
Succeeded by Ilham Aliyev |
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