Azerbaijan marks 98th birthday anniversary of National Leader Heydar Aliyev
  • POLITICS

  • 00:00 10 May 2021

Azerbaijan marks 98th birthday anniversary of National Leader Heydar Aliyev

Azerbaijan marks the 98th anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev, APA reports.

All regions of the country and many countries around the world held events dedicated anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev was born on May 10, 1923, in Nakhchivan. In 1939, after graduating from the Nakhchivan Pedagogical School, he entered the Architecture Department of the Industrial Institute of Azerbaijan (now Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University of Azerbaijan).

Since 1941, Heydar Aliyev worked as a head of the department at the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Nakhchivan, and he was sent to work at state security bodies in 1944. He received special education in Leningrad and rose to the rank of a general. In 1957 he graduated from the History Department of Azerbaijan State University.

He was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Committee for State Security at the Cabinet of Ministers of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan in 1964, and he was promoted to the position of the CSS Chairman in 1967. He was elected to the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijani Communist Party 1969. Elected as a candidate to the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union's Communist Party in 1976, and a member of the Political Bureau in 1982, Heydar Aliyev was appointed the first deputy chairman of the USSR's Council of Ministers.

Heydar Aliyev was awarded the former USSR Lenin Order five times, Order of Red Star, and numerous medals, received the title of the Hero of the Socialistic Labor twice, as well as high awards of different countries, and honorary titles of prestigious universities worldwide.

In October 1987, in protest at the policy pursued by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and personally by Secretary-General Mikhail Gorbachev, Heydar Aliyev resigned from his posts.

The day after the bloody tragedy committed by the Soviet troops in Baku on the night of 19-20 January 1990, Heydar Aliyev made a statement at Azerbaijan`s Representative Office in Moscow demanding to punish the organizers and executors of the crime against the people of Azerbaijan.

As a sign of protest against the hypocritical policy of the USSR leadership towards the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, he left the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in July 1991.

Having returned to Baku on 20 July 1990, Heydar Aliyev left for Nakhchivan two days later, where he was elected as a member of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

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

In 1991-1993, he was holding the position of the Chairman of the Supreme Majlis (the legislative body) of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan and the Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan Supreme Majlis. On 15 June 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected as chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, and on 24 June took the office of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On 3 October 1993, in nationwide voting which saw high turnout, Heydar Aliyev was elected as President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Following his assumption of office, the political, economic, social, and cultural life in the country revived, its international relations were revitalized, and the process of building of genuinely independent statehood started. During his first years in power, in 1993-1995, Heydar Aliyev ensured domestic stability and solidarity, which became the prerequisites of the country's economic development.

Under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan's foreign policy and relations with the world's leading countries and international organizations have developed on the basis of national interests and political perspectives.

In May 1994, he succeeded in the declaration of the ceasefire on the frontline. September 1994, one of the landmark agreements in Azerbaijan`s 20th-century history was signed, successful steps were taken in the field of transportation of Azerbaijani oil to world markets, Baku-Supsa pipeline was constructed and launched.

The contract of  Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline was signed and its implementation started thanks to continuous efforts and dedication of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

On the initiative of Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan played a main role in the restoration of the Great Silk Road - in the implementation of the global communications program. H. Aliyev had an important contribution to the creation of GUAM, which includes Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova, and, thus, in the unification of regional forces in a large geographical area.

The period when Heydar Aliyev was in power was marked with many significant developments in Azerbaijan like the adoption of the Constitution of independent Azerbaijan in 1995, first independent and democratic parliamentary elections in the same year, the introduction of the Constitutional Court, the abolishment of the death penalty,  municipal elections, etc. June 1996 Azerbaijan was granted to special guest status at the Council of Europe and on January 25, 2001, the Republic of Azerbaijan became a full member of the CoE.

H. Aliyev was re-elected president of the Republic of Azerbaijan on October 11, 1998. In 2001, he issued decrees on the transition to the Azerbaijani alphabet based on Latin script, improvement of the state language, establishment of the day of Azerbaijani alphabet, and Azerbaijani language.

Heydar Aliyev passed away on December 12, 2003.

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