Heydar Aliyev
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{{Infobox_President|name=Heydar Aliyev,<br>Heydər Əliyev
| nationality=Azerbaijani,
| image=Heydar Aliyev 1997.jpg
| order=3rd [[President of Azerbaijan|President of the Republic of Azerbaijan]]
| term_start=[[June 24]], [[1993]]
| term_end=[[October 31]], [[2003]]
| predecessor=[[Abülfaz Elçibay]]
| successor=[[Ilham Aliyev]]
| birth_date={{birth date|1923|5|10|mf=y}} (uncertain)
| birth_place=[[Nakhchivan ASSR]], [[Azerbaijan SSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
| death_date={{death date and age|2003|12|13|1923|5|10|mf=y}} (uncertain)
| death_place=[[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], [[United States|U.S.A.]]
| spouse=Zarifa Aliyeva
| party=[[New Azerbaijan Party]]
| vicepresident=
}}
'''Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev''' ({{lang-az|Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev}}, {{lang-ru|Гейдар Алиев}}; [[May 10]], [[1923]]<ref name="aliyev">{{cite web | url= http://aliyevheritage.org/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0021&g=| title=Heydar Aliyev biography|accessdate=2007-08-11}}</ref> – [[December 12]], [[2003]]), also spelled as '''Heidar Aliev''', '''Geidar Aliev''', '''Haydar Aliyev''', '''Geydar Aliyev''' was the president of [[Azerbaijan]] for the [[New Azerbaijan Party]] from June 1993 to October 2003, when his son [[Ilham Aliyev]] succeeded him. From 1969 till 1982, Aliyev was also the leader of [[Soviet Azerbaijan]], practically dominating the political life of [[Azerbaijan]] for over 30 years. He was married to Zarifa Aliyeva, who died in 1985, and was survived by his son and daughter.
==Career in the Soviet era==
=== Early life ===
Aliyev obscured much of his early life, and details remain uncertain. He claimed to have been born into a working-class family in the [[Nakhchivan ASSR]] (today the [[Nakhchivan|Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic]]) of the [[Azerbaijan SSR]], though doubt exists over his date of birth. After graduating from Nakhchivan Pedagogical School, he attended the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute (now the [[Azerbaijan State Oil Academy]]) where he studied architecture. He also claimed to have studied at the [[Baku State University]], graduating with a degree in history. It seems, however, that he actually attended the [[Ministry of State Security Academy]] in [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]].
===Leadership of [[Soviet Azerbaijan]]===
Aliyev joined the [[Azerbaijan SSR]] [[People's Commissariat for State Security]] (NKGB) in 1944. In 1954, upon the government reform, NKGB became known as [[KGB|Committee for State Security]], or the KGB. Aliyev rose quickly within the agency to the rank of [[Major-General]] <ref>Nikolaij Nor-Mesek, Wolfgang Rieper. ''The Defense Council of the USSR'', Institut für Sowjet-Studien, 1984, p. 9</ref>, became a deputy chairman of [[Azerbaijan SSR|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<ref>Richard Sakwa. ''Soviet politics in perspective'', Routledge, 1998, ISBN 0415169925, p. 71</ref>, taking over from Veli Akhoundov, who was accused of corruption<ref>Bernard Anthony Cook. ''Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia'', Taylor & Francis, 2001, ISBN 0815340575, p. 70</ref>. Aliyev has 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''<ref>James Stuart Olson. ''An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires'', Greenwood Press, 1994, ISBN 0313274975, p. 71</ref>. 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<ref>Louise I. Shelley. ''Policing Soviet Society: The Evolution of State Control'', Routledge, 1996, ISBN 0415104696, p. 88</ref>.
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]]<ref>Christian Schmidt-Häuer. ''Gorbachev: The Path to Power'', I. B. Tauris, 1986, ISBN 1850430152, p. 205</ref>. Aliyev became perhaps the most successful republican leader, raising the profile of the underprivileged republic and consistently promoting Azerbaijanis to senior posts<ref name="dewaal134">Thomas De Waal. ''Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War'', NYU Press, 2003, ISBN 0814719457, p. 134</ref>. This came at the cost of flattering [[Leonid Brezhnev]] with lavish gifts and receptions during his three visits to [[Azerbaijan SSR]]<ref name="dewaal134" />. 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<ref>Harold James Perkin. ''The Third Revolution: Professional Elites in the Modern World'', Routledge, 1996, ISBN 0415143373, p. 134</ref>.
On [[November 22]] [[1982]], [[Yuri Andropov]] promoted Aliyev from alternate to full member of [[Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee|Soviet Politburo]]<ref>Alexander Hopkins McDannald. ''The Americana Annual: An Encyclopedia of Current Events'', Americana Corporation, 1983, p. 524</ref> and appointed him to the post of First Deputy Prime Minister of the [[Soviet Union]]<ref>Martin McCauley. ''Who's Who in Russia Since 1900'', Routledge, 1997, ISBN 0415138981, p. 13</ref>, responsible for transportation and social services. Aliyev thus attained the highest position ever reached by [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijani]] in [[Soviet Union]]<ref name="East2002">Roger East, Richard Thomas, Alan John Day. ''A Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe'', Routledge, 2002, ISBN 1857430638, p. 34</ref>. Aliyev was forced to resign from this position in 1987 amidst the alleged corruption charges by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]<ref name="East2002" />.
=== KGB and leader of Azerbaijan SSR ===
{{POV|date=February 2008}}
{{Original research|date=September 2007}}
As head of the KGB's branch in Azerbaijan, he ran an anti-corruption campaign masked to purge his opponents.<ref name="mafia">{{cite book |first = Harold James | last = Perkin | title = The Third Revolution: Professional Elites in the Modern World | publisher = Routledge | pages = p. 204 | year = 1996 | id = ISBN 0415143373}}</ref><ref name="mafia2">{{cite book |first = Alan A. | last = Block | title = Masters of Paradise: A Postscript | publisher = Transaction Publishers | pages = p. 325 | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 1560009713}}</ref><ref name="mafia3">{{cite book |first = Edmond Y. | last = Azadian | title = History on the Move: Views, Interviews and Essays on Armenian Issues | publisher = Wayne State University
Press | pages = p. 67 | year = 2000 | id = ISBN 0814329160}}</ref> Following the purge, Aliyev soon became the undisputed leader of Azerbaijan. During this time, Heydar 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.<ref name="mafia"/><ref name="mafia2"/> In order to remain as undisputed leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev paid bribes to Brezhnev in the form of gifts such as a "Sun-king" diamond ring that was worth up to 226,000 roubles.<ref name="mafia"/><ref name="mafia2"/><ref name="mafia3"/> When two Moscow prosecutors investigated the Azeri mafia, one was tried and expelled from the Communist party and the other was convicted and shot.<ref name="mafia"/> He also became a candidate (non-voting) member of the Soviet [[Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee|Politburo]] in 1976. He occupied this position until December 1982 when [[Yuri Andropov]] promoted him to the post of first Deputy Prime Minister of the [[Soviet Union]]. The promotion came after a sum of 4 million roubles in bribes, at the cost of the Azeri mafia.<ref name="mafia"/>
His star waned following the appointment in 1985 of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] as Soviet leader. His political views became a liability in the era of ''perestroika''. Despite the persecutions of all his relatives in Azerbaijan, Gamboi Mamedov investigated Aliyev's corruption and ties with the mafia. 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.<ref name="mafia"/> His fall from grace became public when the state newspaper ''Pravda'' attacked him for corruption, with critics labeling him "one of the great Communist dinosaurs." In October 1987, Gorbachev mounted a clear-out of the Brezhnevite old guard and forced Aliyev to resign from the Politburo and as head of the Azerbaijan Communist Party "for reasons of health".<ref>[http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp121403.shtml EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Azerbaijan: Biography Of Deceased Former President Heidar Aliyev<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Alivey dominated the political life of Azerbaijan for over 30 years, but left his [[Petroleum|oil]]-rich country with a problematic legacy of gross [[political corruption|corruption]].
==Fall and re-invention==
After his forced retirement in 1987, Aliyev remained in Moscow till 1990. He suffered from heart attack during this period of time. Aliyev briefly appeared in the Permanent Mission of [[Azerbaijan SSR]] in [[Moscow]], opposing the [[Soviet]] reassertion of control in [[Baku]]<ref>Roger East, Richard J. Thomas. ''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'', Routledge, 2003, ISBN 185743126X, p. 32</ref>, 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 [[nationalism|nationalist]] and was subsequently elected as a deputy to the Supreme Council 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 Council of [[Nakhchivan|Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic]] in 1991.
By December 1991, when [[Soviet Union]] ceased to exist and [[Azerbaijan]] became formally an independent state, despite [[Ayaz Mutallibov|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 [[Azerbaijan Popular Front|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 [[June 9]], [[1993]], amidst the military coup in [[Ganja (city)|Ganja]], led by Colonel Suret Huseynov, [[Abulfaz Elchibey]] was forced to invite Heydar Aliyev in [[Baku]] to mediate. On [[June 24]], [[1993]], Elchibey himself left Baku for exile in his native [[Nakhchivan]] while Aliyev was elected to become a Chairman of the National Assembly of [[Azerbaijan]], also assuming temporary presidential powers<ref>United States Library of Congress Country Studies [http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/31.htm Azerbaijan - The Coup of June 1993].</ref>. In August 1993, Elchibey was stripped of his presidency by the nationwide referendum and Aliyev was elected a [[President of Azerbaijan]] in October 1993.
==President of Azerbaijan==
Upon Aliyev's rise to power in 1993, Azerbaijan's political transformation faced a number of hurdles due to anti-democratic practices in elections, repression of the opposition, consolidation of one-man rule, bribery, corruption and regionalism<ref>Ayşe Güneş-Ayata, Ayca Ergun, Isıl Çelimli. ''Black Sea Politics: Political Culture and Civil Society in an Unstable Region'', I. B. Tauris, 2005, ISBN 1845110358, p. 108</ref>. During his presidency, Aliyev ruled Azerbaijan with a firm hand, encouraging foreign investment, while discouraging political dissent. He twice ran and won the presidency of Azerbaijan in national elections (held in the October of 1993 and the October of 1998), but international observers regarded neither election as free nor fair. Nevertheless, Aliyev's presidency brought stability to [[Azerbaijan]] in 1993<ref>Richard Sokolsky, Stuart E. Johnson, F. Stephen Larrabee. ''Persian Gulf Security--Improving Allied Military Contributions'', Rand Corporation, 2000, ISBN 083302910X, p. 22</ref>.
Aliyev had considerable success at attracting multinational companies to invest heavily in Azerbaijan's [[Petroleum|oil]] industry, which controlled large oil and gas reserves under the [[Caspian Sea]] but had suffered poor management in Soviet times. In 1994 President Aliyev signed a huge contract with the international oil consortium [[Azerbaijan International Operating Company]] (AIOC). He also acted as one of the driving forces behind the controversial multi-billion dollar project to build the [[BTC pipeline]] from Baku to [[Ceyhan]] in [[Turkey]], via neighboring [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] (thus bypassing [[Russia]] to the north and [[Iran]].
However, mismanagement and corruption flourished under Aliyev's decade of autocratic rule and Azerbaijan gained a reputation as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Aliyev and his son, [[Ilham Aliyev|Ilham]] both stood accused of personally skimming off huge sums of oil revenue, leading to some describing the country as a [[kleptocracy]].
He also tried but failed to resolve the [[Nagorno-Karabakh War]], which eventually resulted in the loss of some 16%<ref name="cia2007">[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aj.html CIA World Factbook 2007. Online Edition]</ref> of Azerbaijan's territory, estimated 30,000 deaths and displacement of over 600,000 ethnic [[Azerbaijanis]]<ref name="cia2007" />. Attempting a military counter offensive in December 1993, Aliyev was able to recover some territory in [[Fizuli|Fizuli district]], including the town of Horadiz, from the Armenian forces. Nevertheless, he settled for a ceasefire agreement in May 1994 which remains in force till now. The issue remains unresolved, with Armenian military control over [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in [[Azerbaijan]].
== Death and successor ==
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 [[August 6]], 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 December 12, 2003, President Heydar Aliyev died in the Cleveland Clinic.<ref>China Daily News [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-12/16/content_290650.htm Azerbaijan's Geidar Aliev dies at 80]. Published December 16, 2003</ref>
Ilham Aliyev duly won the presidential election of [[October 15]], 2003 but international observers again criticized the contest as falling well below expected standards.<ref>Human Rights Watch [http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/azerbaijan/1.htm Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003]</ref> This transfer of power became the first case of top-level dynastic succession in the former Soviet Union.<ref>Radio Free Europe [http://www.rferl.org/features/2003/08/04082003152529.asp Azerbaijan: Ilham Aliev's Confirmation As Premier Will Keep Presidency In The Family]. Written by Askold Krushelnycky. Published August 4, 2003.</ref>
== Honors ==
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 Red Star once and Hero of the Socialistic 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 [[Mustafa Kemal|Ataturk]]" 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.<ref name="aliyev"/>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
* [[President of Azerbaijan]]
* [[Politics of Azerbaijan]]
* [[National Assembly of Azerbaijan]]
* [[Foreign relations of Azerbaijan]]
* [[List of political parties in Azerbaijan]]
==External links==
*[http://aliyevheritage.org/ Official website]
{{start box}}
{{succession box|
title=First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party|
before=[[Vali Akhundov]]|
years=1969–1982|
after=[[Kamran Bagirov]]
}}
{{succession box|
title=Parliamentary Chairman of Nakhchivan|
before=none|
years=1991–1993|
after=[[Vasif Talibov]]
}}
{{succession box|
title=[[President of Azerbaijan]]|
before=[[Abülfaz Elçibay]]|
years=1993–2003|
after=[[Ilham Aliyev]]
}}
{{end box}}
{{AzerbaijanPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aliyev, Heydar}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Presidents of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Azerbaijani politicians]]
[[Category:Muslim politicians]]
[[Category:Soviet politicians]]
[[Category:People from Nakhchivan]]
[[Category:Heroes of Socialist Labor]]
[[Category:KGB officers]]
[[ar:حيدر علييف]]
[[az:Heydər Əliyev]]
[[cs:Hejdar Alijev]]
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