Heydar Aliyev headed the department at the People`s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Nakhchivan from 1941, and was sent to work at the state security bodies in 1944. Heydar Aliyev, working since that time in the security bodies, held the post of deputy chairman from 1964, and chairman of the Committee of State Security under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan from 1967, and he was conferred the rank of major general. These years, he received special higher education in Leningrad (present St Petersburg), and in 1957 he graduated from the History Department of the Azerbaijan State University.
Being elected at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan in July 1969 as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev became the head of the republic. Heydar Aliyev was elected a member of Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union in December 1982, and was appointed to the post of the First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, becoming one of the leaders of the USSR. Heydar Aliyev was Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR over the period of twenty years, and was Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for five years.
Heydar Aliyev resigned from his post in October 1987 as a sign of protest against the policy pursued by Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and personally the Secretary General Michael Gorbachev.
In connection with the tragedy committed in Baku on 20 January, 1990 by the soviet troops Heydar Aliyev appeared in the next day at the Azerbaijan Representation in Moscow with a statement demanding to punish the organizers and executors of the crime committed against the people of Azerbaijan. As a sign of protest against the hypocritical policy of leadership of the USSR and in connection with the critical conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, Heydar Aliyev left the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in July 1991.
Returning back to Azerbaijan in July 1990, Heydar Aliyev lived in Baku, then in Nakhchivan, and in the same year was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan. In 1991-1993, he held the post of Chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, and also Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev was elected Chairman of the Party at the constituent congress of the New Azerbaijan Party in Nakhchivan in 1992.
The people of Azerbaijan demanded in May-June 1993 to bring to power Heydar Aliyev, as the country was at the verge of civil war and loss of independence due to extreme tension of the governmental crisis. The then leaders of Azerbaijan were obliged to officially invite Heydar Aliyev to Baku. Heydar Aliyev was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan on June 15, 1993, and he commenced to fulfill powers of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan from July 24 based on a resolution of the Milli Mejlis.
On October 3, 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan as a result of nationwide voting. He was re-elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on October 11, 1998, having garnered 76.1 percent of the votes at the elections, held with high voter turnout. Heydar Aliyev gave his consent to be nominated as a candidate at the October 15 presidential elections in 2003, but had to relinquish to run at the elections in connection with health problems.
National leader of the Azerbaijani people, President Heydar Aliyev passed away in Cleveland Hospital in the United States of America on December 12.
Heydar Aliyev was awarded a number of state orders and medals, international awards, and was elected honorable doctor of universities in many countries.
Heydar Aliyev was awarded the Lenin Order four times, Order of Red Star, numerous medals, also orders and medals of foreign countries, and granted a title of the Hero of the Socialistic Labor twice.
The head of Azerbaijan was awarded in Kiev the Yaroslav Mudry Order, the supreme order of Ukraine, on March 27, 1997.
President Heydar Aliyev was awarded the Peace Premium of Ataturk Order, the high order of Turkey, on April 13, 1999.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev was awarded the rank of the Honorable Professor of Moscow State University on January 20, 1999.
President Heydar Aliyev was elected professor and full member of the Academy of Safety, Defense and Legal Norms Problems of the Russian Federation, awarded the premium of Y.V.Andropov, on April 3, 2003
A decree was signed on May 10, 2003 to award Heydar Aliyev the Order of Saint Apostle Andrey Pervozvanny, the supreme order of Russia
More about:
