Azerbaijan honors the memory of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev

On this day, commemorative events are organized in all districts of Azerbaijan, as well as in the capital Baku. Representatives of government agencies, political parties, nongovernmental organizations, media outlets, as well as the people of Azerbaijan visit Heydar Aliyev’s grave at the Alley of Honor.

Azerbaijan's embassies and diaspora organizations abroad also hold commemorative events.

Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev was born in Nakhchivan on 10 May 1923. Since 1941, Heydar Aliyev headed a department at the People Commissariat of Internal Affairs of Nakhchivan ASSR and in 1944 was sent to work at the state security bodies. Heydar Aliyev, working since that time in the security bodies, since 1964 held the post of deputy chairman, and since 1967 - chairman of the State Security Committee of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan Republic. He was later conferred the rank of major general.

During these years, he received special higher education in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and in 1957 he graduated from the history department of the Azerbaijani State University. Being elected at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan in July 1969 as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev heads the Republic.

In October 1987, Heydar Aliyev, as a sign of protest against the policy pursued by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and personally the Secretary-General Michael Gorbachev, resigned from his post.

Inbound with the 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, 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 the leadership of the USSR, in connection with the critical conflict that occurred 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 at first in Baku, then in Nakhchivan, and in the same year, he was elected as the Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan.

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.

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

On 15 June 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected as the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, and on 24 July - on the resolution of the Milli Mejlis, he managed to fulfill powers of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On October 3, 1993, as the result of nationwide voting, Heydar Aliyev was elected as the President of Azerbaijan.

On October 11, 1998, having garnered at the elections, passed in high activeness of the population, 76,1 percent of the votes, he was re-elected as the President of Azerbaijan.

Heydar Aliyev, giving his consent to be nominated as a candidate at the 15 October 2003 presidential elections, Heydar Aliyev relinquished to run at the elections in connection with health problems.

National leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev passed away in Cleveland hospital in the United States of America on December 12, 2003.  

He was buried at Alley of Honour.