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Heydar Aliyev

May 05, 2023

Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev[2] (Azerbaijani: Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, romanized: Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, IPA: [hejˈdæɾ æliɾˈzɑ oɣˈlu æˈlijef]; Russian: Гейда́р Али́евич Али́ев, IPA: [ɡʲɪjˈdar ɐˈlʲijɪvʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲijɪf]; 10 May 1923[3] – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to October 2003. Originally a high-ranking official in the KGB of the Azerbaijan SSR, serving for 28 years in Soviet state security organs (1941–1969), he led Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969 to 1982 and held the post of First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1987.

Heydar Aliyev
Heydər Əliyev
3rd President of Azerbaijan
In office
10 October 1993 – 31 October 2003
Acting: 24 June – 10 October 1993
Prime MinisterSurat Huseynov
Fuad Guliyev
Artur Rasizade
Ilham Aliyev
Preceded byAbulfaz Elchibey
Succeeded byIlham Aliyev
Speaker of the National Assembly
In office
15 June 1993 – 5 November 1993
PresidentAbulfaz Elchibey
Himself
Prime MinisterSurat Huseynov
Fuad Guliyev
Preceded byIsa Gambar
Succeeded byRasul Guliyev
First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union
In office
24 November 1982 – 23 October 1987
PresidentVasili Kuznetsov (acting)
Yuri Andropov
Vasili Kuznetsov (acting)
Konstantin Chernenko
Vasili Kuznetsov (acting)
Andrei Gromyko
PremierNikolai Tikhonov
Nikolai Ryzhkov
Preceded byIvan Arkhipov
Succeeded byAndrei Gromyko
Full member of the 26th, 27th Politburo
In office
22 November 1982 – 21 October 1987
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan
In office
14 July 1969 – 3 December 1982
Preceded byVeli Akhundov
Succeeded byKamran Baghirov
Candidate member of the 25th, 26th Politburo
In office
5 March 1976 – 22 November 1982
Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
In office
17 November 1990 – 9 October 1993
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byVasif Talibov
Personal details
Born
Heydar Alirza oğlu Aliyev

(1923-05-10)10 May 1923
Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died12 December 2003(2003-12-12) (aged 80)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Resting placeAlley of Honour
Political partyCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (1945–1991)
New Azerbaijan Party (1992–2003)[1]
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1948; died 1985)​
ChildrenSevil Aliyeva
Ilham Aliyev
Alma materBaku State University
AwardsHero of Socialist Labour (twice)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Soviet Union
Branch/serviceCommittee for State Security of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
Years of service1941–1969
RankMajor General

Aliyev became president of independent Azerbaijan while the country was on the brink of civil war and suffering serious losses in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War with neighboring Armenia. Aliyev's supporters credit him with restoring stability to Azerbaijan and turning the country into a major international energy producer.[4] His regime in Azerbaijan has been described as dictatorial,[5][6][7][8][9][10] authoritarian,[11][12][13][14] and repressive.[15] He was also said to have run a heavy-handed police state where elections were rigged and dissent was repressed.[16][17] A cult of personality developed around Aliyev, which has continued after his death in 2003. Shortly before his death, his son Ilham Aliyev was elected president in a controversial election and continues to lead Azerbaijan to this day.[18]

Career in the Soviet era

Early life

 
Heydar Aliyev with his family in 1920s

Aliyev was born on 10 May 1923 in the city of Nakhchivan.[19] His family had moved to Nakhchivan before his birth from the village of Jomardly (modern-day Tanahat in the Syunik Province of Armenia), located only a few miles from Nakhchivan.[20] Some sources claim that Aliyev was actually born 2 years earlier in Jomardly, but that it was later decided that a senior Azerbaijani politician should not have an Armenian place of birth.[21][22][23] His father was from Jomardly[21] and his mother was from Vorotan (also in modern-day Syunik Province of Armenia).[20] Aliyev had four brothers: Hasan, Huseyn, Jalal, and Agil, as well as three sisters: Sura, Shafiga and Rafiga.

After graduating from the Nakhchivan Pedagogical School, Aliyev attended the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute (now the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University) from 1939 to 1941, where he studied architecture. In 1949 and 1950, he studied at the USSR Ministry of State Security Higher School in Leningrad. Aliyev's official biography also states that he studied at Baku State University, graduating with a degree in history in 1957.[19] According to American journalist Pete Earley, Aliyev first attended the Ministry of State Security Academy in Leningrad and graduated in 1944.[24] He also took Senior Staff Professional Development courses at the Dzerzhinsky Higher School of the KGB in Moscow in 1966.[25]

In 1948, Aliyev married Zarifa Aliyeva.[26] On 12 October 1955, their daughter Sevil Aliyeva was born. On 24 December 1961, their son Ilham was born. Zarifa Aliyeva died of cancer in 1985.

Early career

 
Young Heydar Aliyev

Aliyev served at the archive department of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from 1941 to 1944, before his appointment as head of the general department of the Council of People's Commissars of the Nakhchivan ASSR. He joined the Azerbaijan SSR People's Commissariat for State Security (NKGB) in 1944 and proceeded to become the department head of the State Security Committee of Azerbaijan SSR in 1950, after he graduated from the Senior Staff Training School of the USSR State Security Committee.[25] In 1954, as part of a government reform, the NKGB, which was previously named the Ministry of State Security (MGB), was again renamed, this time as the KGB. Aliyev rose quickly through the KGB ranks, becoming a Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijani KGB in 1964 and its chairman in 1967, eventually receiving the rank of major general.[27][28]

From KGB to leader of Azerbaijan SSR

 
Aliyev in his KGB uniform
 
Aliyev during his visit to a state collective farm in 70s

As head of the Azerbaijani KGB, Aliyev ran an anti-corruption campaign.[29][30][31] Following the campaign, he became the undisputed leader of Azerbaijan. He was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party at its Plenary Session held on 12 July 1969.[25][32][33] Aliyev made some progress in the 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.[34] In the early 1980s, Aliyev barred the children of certain legal personnel from attending the republic's law school, in a purported effort to curb a self-perpetuating elite based on corruption. In 1977, he visited Iran.[35]

During the period of his leadership of Soviet Azerbaijan, Aliyev's efforts led to considerably increased economic, social and cultural growth rates in Azerbaijan SSR.[36] Aliyev became perhaps the most successful republican leader, raising the profile of the underprivileged republic and consistently promoting Azerbaijanis to senior posts.[37][38]

Aliyev became a candidate (non-voting) member of the Soviet Politburo in 1976. He held this position until December 1982, when Yuri Andropov promoted him to the office of First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and made him a full member of the Politburo.[29][39] Aliyev also served at the Council of Ministers as the first deputy chairman in 1974–1979.[25] On 22 November 1982, Andropov promoted Aliyev from a candidate to a full member of the Soviet Politburo[39] and appointed him to the post of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR,[40] responsible for transportation and social services. Aliyev thus attained the highest position ever reached by an Azerbaijani in the Soviet Union.[41]

Aliyev was dismissed from his position as First Deputy Premier and from the Politburo by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, officially on health grounds.[41][18]

Fall and re-invention

After his forced retirement in 1987, Aliyev remained in Moscow until 1990. He suffered a heart attack during this time. Aliyev publicly opposed the January 1990 Soviet military crackdown in Baku, which had followed the continuing conflict regarding Nagorno-Karabakh.[1][18]

Almost immediately after this public appearance, Aliyev left Moscow for his native Nakhchivan. There, Aliyev reinvented himself as a moderate nationalist. He was elected the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR in Baku in October 1990.[1] Under the pressure and criticism from groups connected to his nemesis, the leader of Soviet Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutallibov, Aliyev again returned to Nakhchivan, where he was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Nakhchivan in 1991. He resigned that same year from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.[1]

By December 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved and Azerbaijan formally became an independent state, Aliyev independently governed Nakhchivan in spite of Mutallibov's presidency. Early 1992 saw increased violence in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War following the fall of Shusha, the last Azerbaijani-populated town in Nagorno-Karabakh. These events resulted in Mutallibov's resignation and the subsequent rise to power of the Azerbaijan Popular Front led by Abulfaz Elchibey. During Elchibey's one year in power, Aliyev continued to govern Nakhchivan without any deference to the official government in Baku. The attempt by the Popular Front's Minister of Interior Isgandar Hamidov to forcibly overthrow Aliyev in Nakhchivan was thwarted by local militia at the regional airport. During the same period, Aliyev independently negotiated a cease-fire agreement in Nakhchivan with the then-President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

Aliyev was elected as the leader of New Azerbaijan Party at its constituent congress organized in Nakhchivan on 21 November 1992.[25]

In May–June 1993, when a crisis in the government led the country to the brink of civil war and loss of independence, the people of Azerbaijan demanded to bring Aliyev to power. The leaders of Azerbaijan were obliged to officially invite Aliyev to Baku. On 24 June 1993, amidst the advancement of insurgent forces under Surat Huseynov's control towards Baku, Elchibey fled from the city to his native village of Keleki in Nakhchivan. Earlier, on 15 June 1993, Aliyev had been elected Chairman of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, and after Elchibey's flight, he also assumed temporary presidential powers.[42] In August 1993, Elchibey was stripped of his presidency by a nationwide referendum, and in October 1993, Aliyev was elected President of Azerbaijan. In May 1994, Aliyev agreed to ceasefire agreement to end the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, which largely held until the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020.

Presidency

 
Aliyev during his inauguration

On 3 October 1993, as a result of nationwide voting, Heydar Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan with 98.8 percent of the vote.[43][44] On 11 October 1998, he was re-elected, winning 77 percent of the vote.[45] Aliyev was nominated as a candidate in the 2003 presidential elections, but declined to run in the elections in connection with health problems.[25]

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Final year of war

When Aliyev became chairman of the National Assembly in June 1993, Azerbaijan was suffering from internal division and military collapse, which allowed Armenian forces to capture most of five districts in the southwest of Azerbaijan without meeting significant resistance, leading to the displacement of around 350,000 people.[46] After taking the office of president, Aliyev disbanded units loyal to the ousted Azerbaijani Popular Front and ordered the creation of a new national army. Tens of thousands of young men with no fighting experience were conscripted to this end.[47] At the same time, Aliyev conducted negotiations with the Armenian side: he had already confidentially met with Karabakh Armenian leader Robert Kocharyan twice in Moscow soon before assuming the presidency, and Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives had agreed to prolong a ceasefire in September 1993. The negotiations bore no results and the ceasefire did not hold, however, and Armenian forces captured additional territories soon after Aliyev's inauguration.[47] In the winter of 1993–1994, Azerbaijani forces attempted to recapture territories on different parts of the frontline. While Azerbaijani forces managed to recapture part of Fuzuli District, the operation to retake Kalbajar District was a disastrous failure, with thousands of Azerbaijani soldiers killed or frozen to death in the mountains north of Kalbajar.[48]

1994 ceasefire and peace negotiations

 
A meeting between Heydar Aliyev, Vladimir Putin and Robert Kocharyan in Kremlin on 30 November 2001

In May 1994, with Aliyev's approval, a ceasefire agreement was signed by representatives of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which successfully put an end to the hostilities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.[49] While agreeing to the ceasefire, Aliyev rejected Russian proposals to deploy a peacekeeping contingent to Nagorno-Karabakh.[49] Following the ceasefire, Aliyev periodically engaged in negotiations with the Armenian side mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group and its co-chair countries (Russia, France and the United States) for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. At the OSCE Lisbon Summit in December 1996, all of the OSCE member states except for Armenia signed a declaration affirming Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and stating that Nagorno-Karabakh's right to self-determination should be realized in the form of "the highest degree of self-rule within Azerbaijan".[50][51]

Aliyev reportedly agreed to a "phased solution" to the conflict proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs in September 1997, which envisioned the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh (besides Lachin District) and the deployment of international peacekeepers, followed by negotiations on the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh in subsequent phases; the proposal was never realized as Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan failed to win support for it from his own government and was forced to resign in February 1998.[52][53] Aliyev participated in bilateral talks with the new president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, in spring 1999 and again in January 2001.[53][54] Further, more substantial talks were held in Key West, Florida with American mediation in April 2001. The proposals negotiated at Key West have never been published, although it is reported that Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor were to be effectively ceded to Armenia while Azerbaijan would regain the seven occupied districts and receive land access to Nakhchivan through Armenian territory.[53] Despite initial reports that the two sides were closer than ever to coming to a final agreement, Aliyev, who is said to have met significant opposition to the conditions from his inner circle, declined to go forward with the agreement after returning to Azerbaijan.[53][55] The Key West negotiations were the last major negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during Aliyev's presidency.

Domestic policy

Constitutional reform

Aliyev assembled the Constitutional Commission in June 1995 to create a constitution to replace the 1978 Azerbaijan SSR Constitution. The first draft was ready in October for public debate[56] and the final version consisted of 5 chapters, 12 sections and 147 articles. The new constitution was confirmed by a referendum held on 12 November 1995.[57] To ensure separation of power, the constitution created 3 divisions: legislative (Milli Majlis), executive (President) and judicial (courts).[58]

Aliyev suggested amendments to the Constitution of Azerbaijan in June 2002. The first amendment to the Constitution of Azerbaijan was approved as the result of the 2002 Azerbaijani constitutional referendum. Consequently, 39 amendments to 23 articles of the Constitution of Azerbaijan were made. These included the abolition of proportional party-list elections to Parliament, a change in the presidential line of succession to favor the Prime Minister instead of the Chairman of Milli Majlis, the favoring of a simple majority when calculating presidential election results, and the establishment of rights for citizens, courts and ombudsmen to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan.[59][60]

Abolition of Death Penalty

Aliyev requested the elimination of the death penalty on 3 February 1998. In his speech addressed to Milli Majlis, Aliyev stated: "I am convinced that the abolition of the death penalty is a crucial step in the humanization of criminal justice policy, moreover it is an important stage in the reform of the legal system as a whole. Taking into consideration all the facts, I am submitting a draft law on amendments and additions to the Criminal, Criminal-Procedure, and Corrective Labour Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the abolition of capital punishment in the Republic of Azerbaijan in accordance with Article 96 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the discussion."[61] Milli Majlis approved the draft law, so on 10 February 1998 the "Law on Amendments and Additions to the Criminal, Criminal-Procedural and Corrective Labour Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the elimination of the death penalty in the Republic of Azerbaijan" was adopted.[62] As a result, capital punishment was replaced with life imprisonment.[63][64]

Azerbaijan joined the "Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty" on 22 January 1999.[65]

Establishment of Ombudsman Institution

Aliyev issued a decree on "Measures for Ensuring Human and Civil Rights and Freedoms" on 22 February 1998. The State Program on the Protection of Human Rights was confirmed by a Presidential Order dated 18 June 1998.[66][67] An Ombudsman institution in Azerbaijan was established based on this State Program, the Constitutional Law "On the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan" (28 December 2001),[68] commitments before the Council of Europe,[66] and a Presidential Decree dated 5 March 2002 on implementation of this law.[67] Elmira Süleymanova was appointed the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) among 3 nominees requested by President Aliyev, as recorded in Decision No. 362 of the Milli Majlis on 2 July 2002.[69][70]

Agrarian and land reform

Main article: Agrarian reforms in Azerbaijan

Agrarian reforms implemented during the Aliyev administration can be divided into 2 phases:

  • 1995–1997 – During the first phase, the legislative base for an agrarian sector was reestablished through the adoption of a number of legislative documents. Privatization of Azerbaijani agriculture through the dissolution of the traditional collective and state farms was the focus of these laws.[71] Examples of these laws include "the Basis of Agrarian Reform" (18 February 1995);[72] "Reform of state and collective farms" (18 February 1995);[73] and "Land Reform" (16 July 1996).[74] On 10 January 1997 Aliyev issued a Decree on "Approval of some legal documents assuring implementation of agrarian reforms". The State Commission on Agrarian Reforms was formed by Aliyev on 2 March 1995.[75][76]
  • 1998–2001 – The second phase focused on post-privatization support and the removal of bureaucratic barriers for more effective implementation of these reforms. The Ministry of Agriculture was reorganized by a presidential decree dated 6 June 1998 (On Ratification of the Statue on the Ministry of Agriculture),[77] the law on "State land cadaster, land monitoring and structure" (22 December 1998),[78] a decree on "Land rent" (12 March 1999),[79] and a law on "land market" (7 May 1999).[80] The Land Code of Azerbaijani Republic was approved by the Law on "Approval of Land Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan"[81] (25 June 1999).[71]

Foreign policy

During the Aliyev administration, Azerbaijani foreign policy was rebalanced. The bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and other countries, as well as cooperation with international organizations, deepened.[82]

Relations with United Nations

During Aliyev's presidency, Azerbaijan began actively participating within international organizations such as the United Nations. Aliyev attended the 49th session of the UN General Assembly (UN GA) in 1994 and the special session of UN GA dedicated to 50th anniversary of United Nations in October 1995.[83] He received former Secretary General of UN Boutros Boutros-Ghali in October 1994 in Baku. Aliyev met with Secretary General Kofi Annan during his trip to the US in 1997 July.[84] Aliyev addressed the Millennium Summit of UN held in September 2000, where he talked about the Armenian invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions, and mentioned UN resolutions 822, 853, 874, 884, which demanded unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.[85] After 11 September attacks, Azerbaijan joined the anti-terror coalition of UN and cooperated with Office of Counter-Terrorism and Sanctions Committee of the UN SC. In October 2001, Azerbaijan joined the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism adopted by UN SC in 1999.[84]

Relations with NATO

The Partnership for Peace (PfP) Framework Document was signed to enhance security and defense cooperation with NATO on 4 May 1994.[86] Aliyev approved the PfP Presentation Document on 19 April 1996. In November 1997, Azerbaijan joined the PfP Planning and Review Process.[87] NATO PA also made Azerbaijan an associate member of NATO in November.[88]

Relations with EU

The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan was signed in Luxembourg on 22 April 1996, and went into effect on 22 June 1999. It promises cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, economy, legislation, culture, immigration and the prevention of illicit trade. Azerbaijan received assistance from the EU for economic reforms in the country through the TACIS and TRACECA programmes.[89] The “Restoration of the Historic Silk Road” international conference was organized in Baku on 8 September 1998 by Aliyev and President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia with the support of the TACIS and TRACECA programmes.[90]

Relations with Council of Europe

Azerbaijan participated as a specially invited guest at the Council of Europe (CoE) on 28 June 1996. Consequently, a number of resolutions and legal acts were adopted from 1996–2001 to improve the Azerbaijani legislative system so it could fulfill the requirements of European standards and international law. On 28 June 2000, Azerbaijan's full admission to the CoE was recommended at the session of Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE. Azerbaijan became a full member of the CoE on 17 January 2001; the official ceremony was conducted on 25 January 2001.[91] Presidential orders “On the implementation of the measures of the program of cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Republic of Azerbaijan” (8 July 1996),[92] "On the measures of Deepening Cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Republic of Azerbaijan" (20 January 1998), and “On the measures of expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan and CoE for defending interests of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Council of Europe"[92] (14 May 1999) were adopted by Aliyev.[93]

Relations with Russia

Aliyev prioritized establishing warmer relations with Russia more than the previous leadership of Azerbaijan did. He stated in his speech at Milli Majlis on 15 June 1993, after being elected as the head of Parliament of Azerbaijan:[94] "Russia, our northern neighbor, is absolutely a vast state. Undoubtedly, the relation based on independent principles between Azerbaijan and Russia must be better, broader and more fruitful."[95] The Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security between Russia and Azerbaijan was signed on 3 July 1997.[96] Aliyev paid his first official trip to Russia as a President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in July 1997 with the invitation of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Relations with Russia further developed through Aliyev-Putin negotiations during their bilateral visits (Vladimir Putin visited Azerbaijan in 2001 and Aliyev paid a reciprocal visit to Russia in 2002).[94] The agreements on "The Status and Benefiting Principles of Gabala Radio Location Station", "Long term economic cooperation agreement between Russian Federation and the Azerbaijan Republic until the year 2010", and "The common declaration of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev" were signed in the latter meeting.[97]

Relations with US

Establishing closer relations and developing cooperation with the US were among the main goals of Aliyev's foreign policy. He stated in one of his speeches regarding this issue: “The relations of Azerbaijan with the United States are important as we need to learn the Western democracy, culture, achievements, to benefit from them, to use and apply them in Azerbaijan. In this regard, the United States is a special country for us."[98] Relations between the two countries strengthened after oil contracts were signed. Aliyev paid his first official visit to the US and met with President Bill Clinton on 1 August 1997. They signed a Joint Statement on future relations between the US and Azerbaijan in defense and military issues. During this trip (27 July-5 August 1997), a statement on intentions of formation of bilateral dialogue between the US and Azerbaijan regarding energy issues and the general agreement between the Government of the Azerbaijani Republic, the National Bank, and the US Export-Import Bank on the promotion of projects were signed. Additionally, 4 agreements on development and production sharing for the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea were signed.[98] After the visit, Aliyev issued an order on “Measures to expand partnership relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States” on 2 September 1997.[99] Azerbaijan joined a US-lead international coalition against terrorism after 11 September attacks,[100] and sent a military contingent to Afghanistan.[101] An amendment to the Freedom Support Act was adopted on 24 October 2002 by the US Senate to allow a US president to temporarily waive Section 907, which used to forbid to export any financial or humanitarian support to Azerbaijan.[102]

Oil strategy

 
Oil pipeline routes

Aliyev used the oil potential of Azerbaijan to avoid the difficulties his country faced after the collapse of the Soviet Union by attracting foreign investment into Azerbaijan. After a year-long series of negotiations in Baku, Istanbul and Houston,[103][104] the “Agreement on the Joint Development and Production Sharing for the Azeri and Chirag Fields and the Deep Water Portion of the Gunashli Field in the Azerbaijan Sector of the Caspian Sea” was signed in Baku on 20 September 1994 by the Government of Azerbaijan and a consortium of 11 oil companies from 6 countries (US, UK, Russia, Norway, Turkey, Saudi Arabia) in the presence of Aliyev.[105][106]

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was established by Presidential Decree in December 1999 to gather the income gained from oil profit with the aim of financing social and economic projects.[107] As a result of the oil strategy developed by Aliyev, Azerbaijani oil was planned to be carried through different routes as Baku–Supsa, Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline (BTC), etc.[104] In order to export Azerbaijani oil to the European market, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey agreed to construct the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in 1998 in Ankara. The ground-breaking ceremony of BTC took place in September 2002 with the participation of Aliyev, Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and Georgian President Edward Shevardnadze.[108][109][110]

The decision to export Azerbaijani crude oil to the Port of Novorossiysk was made through a contract signed in Moscow on 18 February 1996.[111][110] Oil transportation through this route was realized in October 1997.[112] Establishment of the alternative Baku–Supsa route was agreed on 8 March 1996 by Aliyev and Shevardnadze. The Baku–Supsa route began operation in April 1999.[113][114]

Death and successor

Main articles: Death and state funeral of Heydar Aliyev and Heydar Aliyev's cult of personality

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 collapsed while giving a speech on live television in April 2003. On 6 August, Aliyev returned to the US for treatment of congestive heart failure and kidney problems. He stood down from the presidency at the start of October 2003 and appointed his son Ilham as his party's sole presidential candidate. On 12 December 2003, President Aliyev died at the Cleveland Clinic.[115] He was given a large state funeral and buried at the Alley of Honor cemetery in Baku.

Heydar Aliyev's son Ilham Aliyev won a presidential election on 15 October 2003 widely considered to have been fraudulent. International observers criticized the contest as falling well below expected standards.[116]

Honours

See also: Statue of Heydar Aliyev, Mexico City
 
Aliyev's statue in Belgrade

Throughout his life, Aliyev was awarded a number of state orders and medals, international awards, and elected honourable doctor of universities in many countries. Awards he has received include the Order of Lenin five times, the Order of the Red Star once, and Hero of the Socialist Labor twice. On 27 March 1997 in Kyiv, Ukraine, Aliyev received Ukraine's highest award, the Yaroslav Mudry Order, and on 13 April 1999, Turkey's highest honour, the Atatürk International Peace Prize. On 3 April 2003, he was elected a professor and authorized member of the Academy of Safety of the Russian Federation, and was subsequently awarded the Premium of Yuri Andropov. On 10 May 2003, he was decorated with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called—Russia's supreme award.[3][117] A statue of Aliyev has been unveiled in a Tašmajdan Park in Belgrade; its renovation was aided by 2 million euros ($2.9 million) from the Azerbaijani government.[118] In August 2012 a statue of Aliyev which had been gifted to Mexico by the Azerbaijani embassy was installed in a park in Mexico City but was removed the following January after proving controversial. On April 10, 2023, Heydar Aliyev Street was opened in the center of Astana, the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan took part in the opening ceremony.[119]

Full list of honours and awards

Soviet Union
Other

See also

References

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  3. ^ a b . Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
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  11. ^ Rise of Leader's Son Sharpens Azerbaijan's Identity Crisis // Washington Post. 9 August 2003
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External links

  • Official website
  • Official website Heydar Aliyev Foundation
  • Envisioning the Nation - Interview: Azerbaijan's President, Heydar Aliyev
Party political offices
Preceded by First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party
1969–1982 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
none
 Parliamentary Chairman of Nakhchivan
1991–1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of Azerbaijan
1993–2003 		Succeeded by

May 05, 2023
heydar, aliyev, heydar, alirza, oghlu, aliyev, azerbaijani, Һејдәр, Әлирза, оғлу, Әлијев, romanized, heydər, əlirza, oğlu, əliyev, hejˈdæɾ, æliɾˈzɑ, oɣˈlu, æˈlijef, russian, Гейда, Али, евич, Али, ев, ɡʲɪjˈdar, ɐˈlʲijɪvʲɪtɕ, ɐˈlʲijɪf, 1923, december, 2003, aze. Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev 2 Azerbaijani Һeјdәr Әlirza oglu Әliјev romanized Heyder Elirza oglu Eliyev IPA hejˈdaeɾ aeliɾˈzɑ oɣˈlu aeˈlijef Russian Gejda r Ali evich Ali ev IPA ɡʲɪjˈdar ɐˈlʲijɪvʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲijɪf 10 May 1923 3 12 December 2003 was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to October 2003 Originally a high ranking official in the KGB of the Azerbaijan SSR serving for 28 years in Soviet state security organs 1941 1969 he led Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969 to 1982 and held the post of First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1987 Heydar AliyevHeyder Eliyev3rd President of AzerbaijanIn office 10 October 1993 31 October 2003 Acting 24 June 10 October 1993Prime MinisterSurat Huseynov Fuad Guliyev Artur Rasizade Ilham AliyevPreceded byAbulfaz ElchibeySucceeded byIlham AliyevSpeaker of the National AssemblyIn office 15 June 1993 5 November 1993PresidentAbulfaz ElchibeyHimselfPrime MinisterSurat HuseynovFuad GuliyevPreceded byIsa GambarSucceeded byRasul GuliyevFirst Deputy Premier of the Soviet UnionIn office 24 November 1982 23 October 1987PresidentVasili Kuznetsov acting Yuri AndropovVasili Kuznetsov acting Konstantin ChernenkoVasili Kuznetsov acting Andrei GromykoPremierNikolai TikhonovNikolai RyzhkovPreceded byIvan ArkhipovSucceeded byAndrei GromykoFull member of the 26th 27th PolitburoIn office 22 November 1982 21 October 1987First Secretary of the Communist Party of AzerbaijanIn office 14 July 1969 3 December 1982Preceded byVeli AkhundovSucceeded byKamran BaghirovCandidate member of the 25th 26th PolitburoIn office 5 March 1976 22 November 1982Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicIn office 17 November 1990 9 October 1993Preceded byPosition establishedSucceeded byVasif TalibovPersonal detailsBornHeydar Alirza oglu Aliyev 1923 05 10 10 May 1923Nakhchivan Azerbaijan SSR Transcaucasian SFSR Soviet UnionDied12 December 2003 2003 12 12 aged 80 Cleveland Ohio U S Resting placeAlley of HonourPolitical partyCommunist Party of the Soviet Union 1945 1991 New Azerbaijan Party 1992 2003 1 SpouseZarifa Aliyeva m 1948 died 1985 wbr ChildrenSevil AliyevaIlham AliyevAlma materBaku State UniversityAwardsHero of Socialist Labour twice SignatureMilitary serviceAllegiance Soviet UnionBranch serviceCommittee for State Security of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist RepublicYears of service1941 1969RankMajor GeneralAliyev became president of independent Azerbaijan while the country was on the brink of civil war and suffering serious losses in the First Nagorno Karabakh War with neighboring Armenia Aliyev s supporters credit him with restoring stability to Azerbaijan and turning the country into a major international energy producer 4 His regime in Azerbaijan has been described as dictatorial 5 6 7 8 9 10 authoritarian 11 12 13 14 and repressive 15 He was also said to have run a heavy handed police state where elections were rigged and dissent was repressed 16 17 A cult of personality developed around Aliyev which has continued after his death in 2003 Shortly before his death his son Ilham Aliyev was elected president in a controversial election and continues to lead Azerbaijan to this day 18 Contents 1 Career in the Soviet era 1 1 Early life 1 2 Early career 2 From KGB to leader of Azerbaijan SSR 3 Fall and re invention 4 Presidency 4 1 Nagorno Karabakh conflict 4 1 1 Final year of war 4 1 2 1994 ceasefire and peace negotiations 4 2 Domestic policy 4 2 1 Constitutional reform 4 2 2 Abolition of Death Penalty 4 2 3 Establishment of Ombudsman Institution 4 2 4 Agrarian and land reform 4 3 Foreign policy 4 3 1 Relations with United Nations 4 3 2 Relations with NATO 4 3 3 Relations with EU 4 3 4 Relations with Council of Europe 4 3 5 Relations with Russia 4 3 6 Relations with US 4 4 Oil strategy 5 Death and successor 6 Honours 6 1 Full list of honours and awards 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksCareer in the Soviet era EditEarly life Edit Heydar Aliyev with his family in 1920s Aliyev was born on 10 May 1923 in the city of Nakhchivan 19 His family had moved to Nakhchivan before his birth from the village of Jomardly modern day Tanahat in the Syunik Province of Armenia located only a few miles from Nakhchivan 20 Some sources claim that Aliyev was actually born 2 years earlier in Jomardly but that it was later decided that a senior Azerbaijani politician should not have an Armenian place of birth 21 22 23 His father was from Jomardly 21 and his mother was from Vorotan also in modern day Syunik Province of Armenia 20 Aliyev had four brothers Hasan Huseyn Jalal and Agil as well as three sisters Sura Shafiga and Rafiga After graduating from the Nakhchivan Pedagogical School Aliyev attended the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute now the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University from 1939 to 1941 where he studied architecture In 1949 and 1950 he studied at the USSR Ministry of State Security Higher School in Leningrad Aliyev s official biography also states that he studied at Baku State University graduating with a degree in history in 1957 19 According to American journalist Pete Earley Aliyev first attended the Ministry of State Security Academy in Leningrad and graduated in 1944 24 He also took Senior Staff Professional Development courses at the Dzerzhinsky Higher School of the KGB in Moscow in 1966 25 In 1948 Aliyev married Zarifa Aliyeva 26 On 12 October 1955 their daughter Sevil Aliyeva was born On 24 December 1961 their son Ilham was born Zarifa Aliyeva died of cancer in 1985 Early career Edit Young Heydar Aliyev Aliyev served at the archive department of the People s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from 1941 to 1944 before his appointment as head of the general department of the Council of People s Commissars of the Nakhchivan ASSR He joined the Azerbaijan SSR People s Commissariat for State Security NKGB in 1944 and proceeded to become the department head of the State Security Committee of Azerbaijan SSR in 1950 after he graduated from the Senior Staff Training School of the USSR State Security Committee 25 In 1954 as part of a government reform the NKGB which was previously named the Ministry of State Security MGB was again renamed this time as the KGB Aliyev rose quickly through the KGB ranks becoming a Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijani KGB in 1964 and its chairman in 1967 eventually receiving the rank of major general 27 28 From KGB to leader of Azerbaijan SSR Edit Aliyev in his KGB uniform Aliyev during his visit to a state collective farm in 70s As head of the Azerbaijani KGB Aliyev ran an anti corruption campaign 29 30 31 Following the campaign he became the undisputed leader of Azerbaijan He was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party at its Plenary Session held on 12 July 1969 25 32 33 Aliyev made some progress in the 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 34 In the early 1980s Aliyev barred the children of certain legal personnel from attending the republic s law school in a purported effort to curb a self perpetuating elite based on corruption In 1977 he visited Iran 35 During the period of his leadership of Soviet Azerbaijan Aliyev s efforts led to considerably increased economic social and cultural growth rates in Azerbaijan SSR 36 Aliyev became perhaps the most successful republican leader raising the profile of the underprivileged republic and consistently promoting Azerbaijanis to senior posts 37 38 Aliyev became a candidate non voting member of the Soviet Politburo in 1976 He held this position until December 1982 when Yuri Andropov promoted him to the office of First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and made him a full member of the Politburo 29 39 Aliyev also served at the Council of Ministers as the first deputy chairman in 1974 1979 25 On 22 November 1982 Andropov promoted Aliyev from a candidate to a full member of the Soviet Politburo 39 and appointed him to the post of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR 40 responsible for transportation and social services Aliyev thus attained the highest position ever reached by an Azerbaijani in the Soviet Union 41 Aliyev was dismissed from his position as First Deputy Premier and from the Politburo by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 officially on health grounds 41 18 Fall and re invention EditAfter his forced retirement in 1987 Aliyev remained in Moscow until 1990 He suffered a heart attack during this time Aliyev publicly opposed the January 1990 Soviet military crackdown in Baku which had followed the continuing conflict regarding Nagorno Karabakh 1 18 Almost immediately after this public appearance Aliyev left Moscow for his native Nakhchivan There Aliyev reinvented himself as a moderate nationalist He was elected the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR in Baku in October 1990 1 Under the pressure and criticism from groups connected to his nemesis the leader of Soviet Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutallibov Aliyev again returned to Nakhchivan where he was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Nakhchivan in 1991 He resigned that same year from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1 By December 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved and Azerbaijan formally became an independent state Aliyev independently governed Nakhchivan in spite of Mutallibov s presidency Early 1992 saw increased violence in the First Nagorno Karabakh War following the fall of Shusha the last Azerbaijani populated town in Nagorno Karabakh These events resulted in Mutallibov s resignation and the subsequent rise to power of the Azerbaijan Popular Front led by Abulfaz Elchibey During Elchibey s one year in power Aliyev continued to govern Nakhchivan without any deference to the official government in Baku The attempt by the Popular Front s Minister of Interior Isgandar Hamidov to forcibly overthrow Aliyev in Nakhchivan was thwarted by local militia at the regional airport During the same period Aliyev independently negotiated a cease fire agreement in Nakhchivan with the then President of Armenia Levon Ter Petrosyan Aliyev was elected as the leader of New Azerbaijan Party at its constituent congress organized in Nakhchivan on 21 November 1992 25 In May June 1993 when a crisis in the government led the country to the brink of civil war and loss of independence the people of Azerbaijan demanded to bring Aliyev to power The leaders of Azerbaijan were obliged to officially invite Aliyev to Baku On 24 June 1993 amidst the advancement of insurgent forces under Surat Huseynov s control towards Baku Elchibey fled from the city to his native village of Keleki in Nakhchivan Earlier on 15 June 1993 Aliyev had been elected Chairman of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan and after Elchibey s flight he also assumed temporary presidential powers 42 In August 1993 Elchibey was stripped of his presidency by a nationwide referendum and in October 1993 Aliyev was elected President of Azerbaijan In May 1994 Aliyev agreed to ceasefire agreement to end the hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh which largely held until the Second Nagorno Karabakh War in 2020 Presidency Edit Aliyev during his inauguration On 3 October 1993 as a result of nationwide voting Heydar Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan with 98 8 percent of the vote 43 44 On 11 October 1998 he was re elected winning 77 percent of the vote 45 Aliyev was nominated as a candidate in the 2003 presidential elections but declined to run in the elections in connection with health problems 25 Nagorno Karabakh conflict Edit Final year of war Edit When Aliyev became chairman of the National Assembly in June 1993 Azerbaijan was suffering from internal division and military collapse which allowed Armenian forces to capture most of five districts in the southwest of Azerbaijan without meeting significant resistance leading to the displacement of around 350 000 people 46 After taking the office of president Aliyev disbanded units loyal to the ousted Azerbaijani Popular Front and ordered the creation of a new national army Tens of thousands of young men with no fighting experience were conscripted to this end 47 At the same time Aliyev conducted negotiations with the Armenian side he had already confidentially met with Karabakh Armenian leader Robert Kocharyan twice in Moscow soon before assuming the presidency and Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives had agreed to prolong a ceasefire in September 1993 The negotiations bore no results and the ceasefire did not hold however and Armenian forces captured additional territories soon after Aliyev s inauguration 47 In the winter of 1993 1994 Azerbaijani forces attempted to recapture territories on different parts of the frontline While Azerbaijani forces managed to recapture part of Fuzuli District the operation to retake Kalbajar District was a disastrous failure with thousands of Azerbaijani soldiers killed or frozen to death in the mountains north of Kalbajar 48 1994 ceasefire and peace negotiations Edit A meeting between Heydar Aliyev Vladimir Putin and Robert Kocharyan in Kremlin on 30 November 2001 In May 1994 with Aliyev s approval a ceasefire agreement was signed by representatives of Azerbaijan Armenia and the breakaway Nagorno Karabakh Republic which successfully put an end to the hostilities in and around Nagorno Karabakh 49 While agreeing to the ceasefire Aliyev rejected Russian proposals to deploy a peacekeeping contingent to Nagorno Karabakh 49 Following the ceasefire Aliyev periodically engaged in negotiations with the Armenian side mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group and its co chair countries Russia France and the United States for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict At the OSCE Lisbon Summit in December 1996 all of the OSCE member states except for Armenia signed a declaration affirming Azerbaijan s territorial integrity and stating that Nagorno Karabakh s right to self determination should be realized in the form of the highest degree of self rule within Azerbaijan 50 51 Aliyev reportedly agreed to a phased solution to the conflict proposed by the Minsk Group co chairs in September 1997 which envisioned the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied districts surrounding Nagorno Karabakh besides Lachin District and the deployment of international peacekeepers followed by negotiations on the final status of Nagorno Karabakh in subsequent phases the proposal was never realized as Armenian president Levon Ter Petrosyan failed to win support for it from his own government and was forced to resign in February 1998 52 53 Aliyev participated in bilateral talks with the new president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan in spring 1999 and again in January 2001 53 54 Further more substantial talks were held in Key West Florida with American mediation in April 2001 The proposals negotiated at Key West have never been published although it is reported that Nagorno Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor were to be effectively ceded to Armenia while Azerbaijan would regain the seven occupied districts and receive land access to Nakhchivan through Armenian territory 53 Despite initial reports that the two sides were closer than ever to coming to a final agreement Aliyev who is said to have met significant opposition to the conditions from his inner circle declined to go forward with the agreement after returning to Azerbaijan 53 55 The Key West negotiations were the last major negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict during Aliyev s presidency Domestic policy Edit Constitutional reform Edit Aliyev assembled the Constitutional Commission in June 1995 to create a constitution to replace the 1978 Azerbaijan SSR Constitution The first draft was ready in October for public debate 56 and the final version consisted of 5 chapters 12 sections and 147 articles The new constitution was confirmed by a referendum held on 12 November 1995 57 To ensure separation of power the constitution created 3 divisions legislative Milli Majlis executive President and judicial courts 58 Aliyev suggested amendments to the Constitution of Azerbaijan in June 2002 The first amendment to the Constitution of Azerbaijan was approved as the result of the 2002 Azerbaijani constitutional referendum Consequently 39 amendments to 23 articles of the Constitution of Azerbaijan were made These included the abolition of proportional party list elections to Parliament a change in the presidential line of succession to favor the Prime Minister instead of the Chairman of Milli Majlis the favoring of a simple majority when calculating presidential election results and the establishment of rights for citizens courts and ombudsmen to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan 59 60 Abolition of Death Penalty Edit Aliyev requested the elimination of the death penalty on 3 February 1998 In his speech addressed to Milli Majlis Aliyev stated I am convinced that the abolition of the death penalty is a crucial step in the humanization of criminal justice policy moreover it is an important stage in the reform of the legal system as a whole Taking into consideration all the facts I am submitting a draft law on amendments and additions to the Criminal Criminal Procedure and Corrective Labour Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the abolition of capital punishment in the Republic of Azerbaijan in accordance with Article 96 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the discussion 61 Milli Majlis approved the draft law so on 10 February 1998 the Law on Amendments and Additions to the Criminal Criminal Procedural and Corrective Labour Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the elimination of the death penalty in the Republic of Azerbaijan was adopted 62 As a result capital punishment was replaced with life imprisonment 63 64 Azerbaijan joined the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty on 22 January 1999 65 Establishment of Ombudsman Institution Edit Aliyev issued a decree on Measures for Ensuring Human and Civil Rights and Freedoms on 22 February 1998 The State Program on the Protection of Human Rights was confirmed by a Presidential Order dated 18 June 1998 66 67 An Ombudsman institution in Azerbaijan was established based on this State Program the Constitutional Law On the Commissioner for Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Azerbaijan 28 December 2001 68 commitments before the Council of Europe 66 and a Presidential Decree dated 5 March 2002 on implementation of this law 67 Elmira Suleymanova was appointed the Commissioner for Human Rights Ombudsman among 3 nominees requested by President Aliyev as recorded in Decision No 362 of the Milli Majlis on 2 July 2002 69 70 Agrarian and land reform Edit Main article Agrarian reforms in Azerbaijan Agrarian reforms implemented during the Aliyev administration can be divided into 2 phases 1995 1997 During the first phase the legislative base for an agrarian sector was reestablished through the adoption of a number of legislative documents Privatization of Azerbaijani agriculture through the dissolution of the traditional collective and state farms was the focus of these laws 71 Examples of these laws include the Basis of Agrarian Reform 18 February 1995 72 Reform of state and collective farms 18 February 1995 73 and Land Reform 16 July 1996 74 On 10 January 1997 Aliyev issued a Decree on Approval of some legal documents assuring implementation of agrarian reforms The State Commission on Agrarian Reforms was formed by Aliyev on 2 March 1995 75 76 1998 2001 The second phase focused on post privatization support and the removal of bureaucratic barriers for more effective implementation of these reforms The Ministry of Agriculture was reorganized by a presidential decree dated 6 June 1998 On Ratification of the Statue on the Ministry of Agriculture 77 the law on State land cadaster land monitoring and structure 22 December 1998 78 a decree on Land rent 12 March 1999 79 and a law on land market 7 May 1999 80 The Land Code of Azerbaijani Republic was approved by the Law on Approval of Land Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan 81 25 June 1999 71 Foreign policy Edit During the Aliyev administration Azerbaijani foreign policy was rebalanced The bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and other countries as well as cooperation with international organizations deepened 82 Relations with United Nations Edit During Aliyev s presidency Azerbaijan began actively participating within international organizations such as the United Nations Aliyev attended the 49th session of the UN General Assembly UN GA in 1994 and the special session of UN GA dedicated to 50th anniversary of United Nations in October 1995 83 He received former Secretary General of UN Boutros Boutros Ghali in October 1994 in Baku Aliyev met with Secretary General Kofi Annan during his trip to the US in 1997 July 84 Aliyev addressed the Millennium Summit of UN held in September 2000 where he talked about the Armenian invasion of Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent regions and mentioned UN resolutions 822 853 874 884 which demanded unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories 85 After 11 September attacks Azerbaijan joined the anti terror coalition of UN and cooperated with Office of Counter Terrorism and Sanctions Committee of the UN SC In October 2001 Azerbaijan joined the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism adopted by UN SC in 1999 84 Relations with NATO Edit The Partnership for Peace PfP Framework Document was signed to enhance security and defense cooperation with NATO on 4 May 1994 86 Aliyev approved the PfP Presentation Document on 19 April 1996 In November 1997 Azerbaijan joined the PfP Planning and Review Process 87 NATO PA also made Azerbaijan an associate member of NATO in November 88 Relations with EU Edit The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan was signed in Luxembourg on 22 April 1996 and went into effect on 22 June 1999 It promises cooperation in the fields of trade investment economy legislation culture immigration and the prevention of illicit trade Azerbaijan received assistance from the EU for economic reforms in the country through the TACIS and TRACECA programmes 89 The Restoration of the Historic Silk Road international conference was organized in Baku on 8 September 1998 by Aliyev and President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia with the support of the TACIS and TRACECA programmes 90 Relations with Council of Europe Edit Azerbaijan participated as a specially invited guest at the Council of Europe CoE on 28 June 1996 Consequently a number of resolutions and legal acts were adopted from 1996 2001 to improve the Azerbaijani legislative system so it could fulfill the requirements of European standards and international law On 28 June 2000 Azerbaijan s full admission to the CoE was recommended at the session of Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE Azerbaijan became a full member of the CoE on 17 January 2001 the official ceremony was conducted on 25 January 2001 91 Presidential orders On the implementation of the measures of the program of cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Republic of Azerbaijan 8 July 1996 92 On the measures of Deepening Cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Republic of Azerbaijan 20 January 1998 and On the measures of expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan and CoE for defending interests of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Council of Europe 92 14 May 1999 were adopted by Aliyev 93 Relations with Russia Edit Aliyev prioritized establishing warmer relations with Russia more than the previous leadership of Azerbaijan did He stated in his speech at Milli Majlis on 15 June 1993 after being elected as the head of Parliament of Azerbaijan 94 Russia our northern neighbor is absolutely a vast state Undoubtedly the relation based on independent principles between Azerbaijan and Russia must be better broader and more fruitful 95 The Agreement on Friendship Cooperation and Mutual Security between Russia and Azerbaijan was signed on 3 July 1997 96 Aliyev paid his first official trip to Russia as a President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in July 1997 with the invitation of Russian President Boris Yeltsin Relations with Russia further developed through Aliyev Putin negotiations during their bilateral visits Vladimir Putin visited Azerbaijan in 2001 and Aliyev paid a reciprocal visit to Russia in 2002 94 The agreements on The Status and Benefiting Principles of Gabala Radio Location Station Long term economic cooperation agreement between Russian Federation and the Azerbaijan Republic until the year 2010 and The common declaration of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev were signed in the latter meeting 97 Relations with US Edit Establishing closer relations and developing cooperation with the US were among the main goals of Aliyev s foreign policy He stated in one of his speeches regarding this issue The relations of Azerbaijan with the United States are important as we need to learn the Western democracy culture achievements to benefit from them to use and apply them in Azerbaijan In this regard the United States is a special country for us 98 Relations between the two countries strengthened after oil contracts were signed Aliyev paid his first official visit to the US and met with President Bill Clinton on 1 August 1997 They signed a Joint Statement on future relations between the US and Azerbaijan in defense and military issues During this trip 27 July 5 August 1997 a statement on intentions of formation of bilateral dialogue between the US and Azerbaijan regarding energy issues and the general agreement between the Government of the Azerbaijani Republic the National Bank and the US Export Import Bank on the promotion of projects were signed Additionally 4 agreements on development and production sharing for the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea were signed 98 After the visit Aliyev issued an order on Measures to expand partnership relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States on 2 September 1997 99 Azerbaijan joined a US lead international coalition against terrorism after 11 September attacks 100 and sent a military contingent to Afghanistan 101 An amendment to the Freedom Support Act was adopted on 24 October 2002 by the US Senate to allow a US president to temporarily waive Section 907 which used to forbid to export any financial or humanitarian support to Azerbaijan 102 Oil strategy Edit Oil pipeline routes Aliyev used the oil potential of Azerbaijan to avoid the difficulties his country faced after the collapse of the Soviet Union by attracting foreign investment into Azerbaijan After a year long series of negotiations in Baku Istanbul and Houston 103 104 the Agreement on the Joint Development and Production Sharing for the Azeri and Chirag Fields and the Deep Water Portion of the Gunashli Field in the Azerbaijan Sector of the Caspian Sea was signed in Baku on 20 September 1994 by the Government of Azerbaijan and a consortium of 11 oil companies from 6 countries US UK Russia Norway Turkey Saudi Arabia in the presence of Aliyev 105 106 The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was established by Presidential Decree in December 1999 to gather the income gained from oil profit with the aim of financing social and economic projects 107 As a result of the oil strategy developed by Aliyev Azerbaijani oil was planned to be carried through different routes as Baku Supsa Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline BTC etc 104 In order to export Azerbaijani oil to the European market the presidents of Azerbaijan Georgia and Turkey agreed to construct the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline in 1998 in Ankara The ground breaking ceremony of BTC took place in September 2002 with the participation of Aliyev Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Georgian President Edward Shevardnadze 108 109 110 The decision to export Azerbaijani crude oil to the Port of Novorossiysk was made through a contract signed in Moscow on 18 February 1996 111 110 Oil transportation through this route was realized in October 1997 112 Establishment of the alternative Baku Supsa route was agreed on 8 March 1996 by Aliyev and Shevardnadze The Baku Supsa route began operation in April 1999 113 114 Death and successor Edit The Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku Main articles Death and state funeral of Heydar Aliyev and Heydar Aliyev s cult of personality 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 collapsed while giving a speech on live television in April 2003 On 6 August Aliyev returned to the US for treatment of congestive heart failure and kidney problems He stood down from the presidency at the start of October 2003 and appointed his son Ilham as his party s sole presidential candidate On 12 December 2003 President Aliyev died at the Cleveland Clinic 115 He was given a large state funeral and buried at the Alley of Honor cemetery in Baku Heydar Aliyev s son Ilham Aliyev won a presidential election on 15 October 2003 widely considered to have been fraudulent International observers criticized the contest as falling well below expected standards 116 Honours EditSee also Statue of Heydar Aliyev Mexico City Aliyev s statue in Belgrade Throughout his life Aliyev was awarded a number of state orders and medals international awards and elected honourable doctor of universities in many countries Awards he has received include the Order of Lenin five times the Order of the Red Star once and Hero of the Socialist Labor twice On 27 March 1997 in Kyiv Ukraine Aliyev received Ukraine s highest award the Yaroslav Mudry Order and on 13 April 1999 Turkey s highest honour the Ataturk International Peace Prize On 3 April 2003 he was elected a professor and authorized member of the Academy of Safety of the Russian Federation and was subsequently awarded the Premium of Yuri Andropov On 10 May 2003 he was decorated with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First Called Russia s supreme award 3 117 A statue of Aliyev has been unveiled in a Tasmajdan Park in Belgrade its renovation was aided by 2 million euros 2 9 million from the Azerbaijani government 118 In August 2012 a statue of Aliyev which had been gifted to Mexico by the Azerbaijani embassy was installed in a park in Mexico City but was removed the following January after proving controversial On April 10 2023 Heydar Aliyev Street was opened in the center of Astana the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan took part in the opening ceremony 119 Full list of honours and awards Edit Soviet UnionHero of Socialist Labour twice 1979 1983 Five Orders of Lenin 1971 1973 1976 1979 1983 Order of the October Revolution 1982 Order of the Red Star 1962 Order of the Patriotic War 1st class 1985 Medal For Battle Merit Medal For Labour Valour Medal For the Defence of the Caucasus 1944 Medal For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941 1945 1945 Jubilee Medal Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941 1945 1965 Jubilee Medal Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941 1945 1975 Jubilee Medal Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941 1945 1985 Jubilee Medal In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin 1969 Medal For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941 1945 Medal Veteran of Labour 1974 Medal Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR 1976 Jubilee Medal 30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy 1948 Jubilee Medal 40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR 1957 Jubilee Medal 50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR 1967 Jubilee Medal 60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR 1978 Jubilee Medal 70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR 1988 Medal For Impeccable Service Second Class 1959 Medal For Impeccable Service First Class 1964 Other Turkey First Class of the Order of the State of Republic of Turkey 1997 120 Ukraine Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise 1st class 20 March 1997 for outstanding contribution to the development of cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Azerbaijan and strengthening friendship between the Ukrainian and Azeri people Turkey Silk Road Service Award by the Silk Road Fund 1998 121 Turkey Ataturk International Peace Prize 1999 122 Russia Order of St Andrew 10 May 2003 for his great personal contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan Russia Chuvash National Prize named after Ivan Yakovlev 2000 123 Georgia Order of the Golden Fleece 2001 Kazakhstan Astana Medal France Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour 2003 124 Ukraine Gloria Populi award of Golden Fortune International Scientific Organization 125 Order of St Sergius of Radonezh 1st class ROC ru Order Sheikh ul Islam posthumously See also EditPresident of Azerbaijan Politics of Azerbaijan National Assembly of Azerbaijan Foreign relations of Azerbaijan List of political parties in AzerbaijanReferences Edit a b c d Roger East Richard J Thomas Profiles of People in Power The World s Government Leaders Routledge 2003 ISBN 1 85743 126 X p 32 The National Leader of the Azerbaijani Nation Heydar Aliyev a b Heydar Aliyev biography Archived from the original on 13 September 2007 Retrieved 11 August 2007 Sultanova Shahla 18 January 2013 Azerbaijan Taking Veneration for Past Leader to a Turkmenbashi Level eurasianet org Retrieved 4 October 2021 The Two 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Republic of Azerbaijan at the Millennium summit in New York September 7 2000 lib aliyev heritage org Retrieved 28 February 2018 Overview of Azerbaijan NATO Partnership nato pfp mfa gov az Archived from the original on 2 November 2019 Retrieved 28 February 2018 Key milestones of Azerbaijan NATO Cooperation nato pfp mfa gov az Archived from the original on 2 November 2019 Retrieved 28 February 2018 Azerbaijan NATO 15 years of partnership PDF Mission of Azerbaijan to NATO Archived from the original PDF on 5 March 2013 Retrieved 28 February 2018 Azerbaijan and European Union www mfa gov az Archived from the original on 18 June 2017 Retrieved 23 March 2018 Baku Initiative www traceca org org Archived from the original on 23 March 2018 Retrieved 23 March 2018 Historical background to the document The speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev at the solemn ceremony of admission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe January 25 2001 Strasbourg lib 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President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev to the United States of America July 27 August 6 1997 Heydar Aliyev Heritage International Online Library Retrieved 1 May 2018 Presidential order on Measures to expand partnership relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan internet database of normative legal acts in Azerbaijani Retrieved 1 May 2018 P M E Volten B Tashev eds 2007 Establishing Security and Stability in the Wider Black Sea Area International Politics and the New and Emerging Democracies IOS Press p 163 ISBN 9781607502593 Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002 United States Department of State April 2003 p 28 FOREIGN OPERATIONS EXPORT FINANCING AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT 2002 U S Government Printing Office Nasser Sagheb and Masoud Javadi Winter 1994 Azerbaijan s Contract of the Century Finally Signed with Western Oil Consortium Azerbaijan International 26 28 65 a b Oil strategy of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev s Heritage Research Center Retrieved 14 February 2019 Azeri Chirag Deepwater Gunashli Operations and projects Caspian bp com Retrieved 14 February 2019 General historical background of the Contract of the Century Heydar Aliyevs Heritage Research Center Retrieved 14 February 2019 History of State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan Retrieved 14 February 2019 Timeline of Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan BTC www socarmidstream az Retrieved 14 February 2019 Presidential Library of Azerbaijan Esrin muqavilesi ne geden yol PDF p 24 a b Presidential Library of Azerbaijan Economy of Azerbaijan PDF p 24 Ilkin neftin Rusiya erazisi vasitesile neqli haqqinda sazislerin imzalanmasi merasiminde Azerbaycan Respublikasinin Prezidenti Heyder Eliyevin nitqi Heydar Aliyevs Heritage Research Center Retrieved 14 February 2019 Kreml org Marshruty transportirovki azerbajdzhanskoj nefti istochnik politicheskih raznoglasij na mezhdunarodnom urovne www kreml org Archived from the original on 2 January 2019 Retrieved 14 February 2019 Transport routes of Azerbaijani oil Baku Novorossiysk Baku Supsa www azerbaijan az Retrieved 14 February 2019 Rafael Kandiyoti 2012 Pipelines Flowing Oil and Crude Politics p 165 ISBN 9781848858398 China Daily News Azerbaijan s Geidar Aliev dies at 80 Published 16 December 2003 Azerbaijan Presidential Elections 2003 Human Rights Watch 13 October 2003 Archived from the original on 20 October 2020 Retrieved 21 October 2020 Mexico City Removes Aliyev Statue RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty Belgrade Erects Statue To Former Azerbaijani President RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty Presidents of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan inaugurate Heydar Aliyev Street in Astana www inform kz 10 April 2023 Dostluk Iliskilerine Katkinin Altin Sembolu Devlet ve Cumhuriyet Nisanlari Turkish The Gold Symbol Contribution of Friendly Relations State and Republic Orders Haberler com February 2013 Retrieved 26 October 2015 Azerbaycan Prezidenti Heyder Eliyevin Turkiyede layiq gorulduyu Dede Qorqud Insan haqlari mukafatlarinin Ipek yolu vaqfinin fexri uzvu diplomunun ve mukafatinin teqdimetme merasiminde cixisi Heydar Aliyev Heritage International Online Library Retrieved 3 April 2019 Ataturk Uluslararasi Baris Odulu AYK www ayk gov tr Retrieved 25 June 2020 Iz besedy Prezidenta Azerbajdzhanskoj Respubliki Gejdara Alieva s delegaciej Chuvashskoj Respubliki vozglavlyaemoj Prezidentom Vsechuvashskogo obshestvenno kulturnogo centra predsedatelem komissii po vsechuvashskim nacionalnym premiyam imeni I Ya Yakovleva narodnym pisatelem akademikom Mishshi Yuhmoj Heydar Aliyev Heritage International Online Library Retrieved 3 April 2019 Azerbaijani French relations Heydar Aliyev Heritage International Online Library Retrieved 3 April 2019 Azerbaycan Respublikasinin Prezidenti Heyder Eliyevin Ukraynanin Mudafie Naziri ordu generali Aleksandr Kuzmuk ve Qizil tale Beynelxalq Aciq Meshurluq Reytinqinin Bas direktorlugunun sedri Dmitri Akimov ile gorusde sohbeti Heydar Aliyev Heritage International Online Library Retrieved 3 April 2019 External links EditOfficial website Official website Heydar Aliyev Foundation Envisioning the Nation Interview Azerbaijan s President Heydar AliyevParty political officesPreceded byVali Akhundov First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party1969 1982 Succeeded byKamran BagirovPolitical officesPreceded bynone Parliamentary Chairman of Nakhchivan1991 1993 Succeeded byVasif TalibovPreceded byAbulfaz Elchibey President of Azerbaijan1993 2003 Succeeded byIlham Aliyev Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Heydar Aliyev amp oldid 1151196674, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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