View source for Heydar Aliyev

{{Short description|President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Heydar Aliyev
| native_name         = {{nobold|Heydər Əliyev}}
| image               = Heydar_Aliyev_(crop).jpg
| alt                 = Photo of Aliyev wearing suit and tie
| caption             = Official portrait
| order               = 3rd
| office              = President of Azerbaijan
| primeminister       = [[Surat Huseynov]] <br /> [[Fuad Guliyev]] <br /> [[Artur Rasizade]] <br /> [[Ilham Aliyev]]
| term                = 10 October 1993&nbsp;– 31 October 2003 <br /> Acting: 24 June&nbsp;– 10 October 1993
| predecessor         = [[Abulfaz Elchibey]]
| successor           = [[Ilham Aliyev]]
| office2             = [[Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan|Chairman]] of the [[Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan]]
| president2          = [[Abulfaz Elchibey]]<br />Himself
| primeminister2      = [[Surat Huseynov]]<br />[[Fuad Guliyev]]
| term_start2         = 15 June 1993
| term_end2           = 5 November 1993
| predecessor2        = [[Isa Gambar]]
| successor2          = [[Rasul Guliyev]]
| office3             = [[List of leaders of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic|Chairman]] of the [[Supreme Assembly (Nakhchivan)|Supreme Assembly]] of the [[Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic]]
| term_start3         = 17 November 1990
| term_end3           = 9 October 1993
| predecessor3        = ''Position established''
| successor3          = [[Vasif Talibov]]
| office4             = [[First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union|First Deputy Chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union]]
| term_start4         = 24 November 1982
| term_end4           = 23 October 1987
| alongside4          = [[Ivan Arkhipov]] (1982–1986)<br>[[Andrei Gromyko]] (1983–1985)<br>[[Nikolai Talyzin]] (1985–1987)<br>[[Vsevolod Murakhovsky]] (1985–1987)
| president4          = [[Vasili Kuznetsov (politician)|Vasili Kuznetsov]] (acting)<br />[[Yuri Andropov]]<br />[[Vasili Kuznetsov (politician)|Vasili Kuznetsov]] (acting)<br />[[Konstantin Chernenko]]<br />[[Vasili Kuznetsov (politician)|Vasili Kuznetsov]] (acting)<br />[[Andrei Gromyko]]
| premier4            = [[Nikolai Tikhonov]]<br />[[Nikolai Ryzhkov]]
| office5             = Full member of the [[25th Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|26th]], [[27th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|27th]] [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]]
| term_start5         = 22 November 1982
| term_end5           = 21 October 1987
| office6             = [[List of heads of state of Azerbaijan|First Secretary]] of the Central Committee of the [[Azerbaijan Communist Party (1920)|Azerbaijan Communist Party]]
| term_start6         = 14 July 1969
| term_end6           = 3 December 1982
| predecessor6        = [[Veli Akhundov]]
| successor6          = [[Kamran Baghirov]]
| office7             = Candidate member of the [[25th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|25th]], [[26th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|26th]] [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]]
| term_start7         = 5 March 1976
| term_end7           = 22 November 1982
| birth_name          = Heydar Alirza oğlu Aliyev<ref>{{cite web|title=The National Leader of the Azerbaijani Nation - Heydar Aliyev|url=https://heydar-aliyev-foundation.org/en/content/index/63/National-leader}}</ref>
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1923|5|10|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Nakhchivan (city)|Nakhchivan]], Azerbaijan SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, {{nowrap|Soviet Union}}
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2003|12|12|1923|5|10|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
| resting_place       = [[Alley of Honor]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Zarifa Aliyeva]]|1948|1985|end=died}}
| children            = [[Sevil Aliyeva]]<br />[[Ilham Aliyev]]
| alma_mater          = [[Baku State University]]
| party               = [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (1945–1991) <br />[[New Azerbaijan Party]] (1992–2003)<ref name="East & Thomas 2003"/>
| signature           = Signature of Heydar Aliyev.png
| allegiance          = {{flag|Soviet Union}}
| branch              = [[Committee for State Security of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic]]
| serviceyears        = 1941–1969
| rank                = [[Major General]]
| awards              = [[Hero of Socialist Labour]] (twice)
| native_name_lang    = az
| battles             = {{tree list}}
* [[Second World War]]
** [[Eastern Front (WWII)|Eastern Front]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}

'''Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev'''{{efn|{{langx|az|Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev}} (Latin)<br/>{{lang|az|Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев}} (Cyrillic)<br/>{{IPA|az|hejˈdæɾ æliɾˈzɑ oɣˈlu æˈlijef|IPA}}<br/>{{Langx|ru|link=no|Гейда́р Али́евич Али́ев}}<br/>{{IPA|ru|ɡʲɪjˈdar ɐˈlʲijɪvʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲijɪf|IPA}}}} (10 May 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 |access-date=11 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913152639/http://aliyevheritage.org/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0021&g= |archive-date=13 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic]] from 1969 to 1982, and the third [[president of Azerbaijan]] from October 1993 to October 2003. 

He was a high-ranking official in the [[KGB]] of the [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan SSR]], serving for 28 years in [[Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies|Soviet state security organs]] (1941–1969). He governed Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969 to 1982 as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. He held the post of [[First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union]] from 1982 to 1987. He rose through the ranks due to his close associations with [[Leonid Brezhnev]] and [[Yuri Andropov]].

Aliyev was installed as president of Azerbaijan after the [[1993 Azerbaijani coup d'état|1993 military coup]] ousted President [[Abulfaz Elchibey]].<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Freedom in the World 2009 - Azerbaijan |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/4a6452d2c.html |website=Freedom House}}</ref> Elchibey was a prominent [[Soviet dissidents|Soviet dissident]] and Azerbaijani nationalist leader who had been elected as president in independent Azerbaijan's first free election in [[1992 Azerbaijani presidential election|1992]].<ref name=":15" /> Aliyev's installation as president put an end to Azerbaijan's short post-independence democratic interlude.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schedler |first=Andreas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nXxoAgAAQBAJ |title=The Politics of Uncertainty: Sustaining and Subverting Electoral Authoritarianism |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-166983-5 |pages=399 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Waal |first=Thomas De |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glByDwAAQBAJ |title=The Caucasus: An Introduction |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-068308-5 |pages=127 |language=en}}</ref> Shortly after taking charge, Aliyev organized a [[1993 Azerbaijani presidential election|presidential election]] where he won nearly 99% of the vote.<ref name=":16">{{Citation |last=Altstadt |first=Audrey L. |title=Azerbaijan's struggle toward democracy |date=1997 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/conflict-cleavage-and-change-in-central-asia-and-the-caucasus/azerbaijans-struggle-toward-democracy/4973616DA6867A781E2FE7C3D4DB96B7 |work=Conflict, Cleavage, and Change in Central Asia and the Caucasus |pages=110–155 |editor-last=Parrott |editor-first=Bruce |series=Democratization and Authoritarianism in Post-Communist Societies |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-59731-9 |editor2-last=Dawisha |editor2-first=Karen}}</ref> 

His regime in Azerbaijan has been described as dictatorial,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/12/opinion/the-two-faces-of-azerbaijans-mr-aliyev.html The Two Faces of Azerbaijan's Mr. Aliyev] // [[The New York Times]], 11 January 2015</ref><ref name="HansSlomp">''Hans Slomp''. Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO, 2011. {{ISBN|0-313-39181-5}}, 9780313391811. P.672</ref><ref name="FranCoise">''FranCoise Companjen, Laszlo Maracz, Lia Versteegh''. Exploring the Caucasus in the 21st Century: Essays on Culture, History and Politics in a Dynamic Context. Amsterdam University Press, 2011. {{ISBN|90-8964-183-1}}, 9789089641830. P.121</ref><ref name="Goltz">''Thomas Goltz''. Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic. M.E. Sharpe, 1999. {{ISBN|0-7656-0244-X}}, 9780765602442. P.66</ref><ref name="Precht">''Elisabeth Precht''. [https://www.scribd.com/doc/100602961/Azerbaijan-in-the-shadow-of-dictatorship Azerbaijan In the Shadow of a Dictatorship] //Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation, 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.contact.az/docs/2013/Social/020900027838ru.htm#.UtM0-rS4vO8 В турецком учебнике Гейдар Алиев представлен как диктатор] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820044228/http://www.contact.az/docs/2013/Social/020900027838ru.htm#.UtM0-rS4vO8 |date=20 August 2017 }} // Сontact.az. 2013 Февраль 09 «''В изданной в Турции учебнике „Конституционное права“ для студентов университетов бывший президент Азербайджана Гейдар Алиев назван „диктатором“''» ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115150/http://www.contact.az/docs/2013/Social/020900027838ru.htm copy])</ref> authoritarian,<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/08/09/rise-of-leaders-son-sharpens-azerbaijans-identity-crisis/27907137-47f9-40a1-a322-b44b3b46751d/ Rise of Leader's Son Sharpens Azerbaijan's Identity Crisis] // [[Washington Post]]. 9 August 2003</ref><ref>[[David J. Kramer]] and [[Richard Kauzlarich]]. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2016/09/08/its-time-for-the-united-states-to-act-on-azerbaijan/ It's time for the United States to act on Azerbaijan] // [[Washington Post]], 8 September 2016</ref><ref>Svante E. Cornell [http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/article/democratization-falters-azerbaijan Democratization Falters in Azerbaijan] // Journal of Democracy 12.2 (2001) 118—131</ref><ref>[https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/institutsionalizatsiya-instituta-prezidentstva-i-perspektivy-konsolidatsii-politicheskih-rezhimov-na-postsovetskom-prostranstve Борисов Николай Александрович]. Институционализация института президентства и перспективы консолидации политических режимов на постсоветском пространстве // «Полития».-2011.-№ 4(63).-С.93-103. «''И хотя эта гипотеза ещё нуждается в дополнительной проверке, уместно предположить, что в этих государствах состоялась авторитарная консолидация, причем важнейшим её фактором был институт президентства и сами личности президентов (Сапармурат Ниязов, Эмомали Рахмон, Нурсултан Назарбаев, Гейдар Алиев)''»</ref> and repressive.<ref name="britannica">[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]. [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/15431/Heydar-Aliyev Heydar Aliyev]. <blockquote>Azerbaijani politician who, was one of the most powerful men in Azerbaijan for more than 30 years, as deputy chairman (1964–67) and chairman (1967–69) of the regional KGB, as secretary (1969–87) of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, and from 1993 as the repressive and autocratic president of independent Azerbaijan.</blockquote></ref> He was also said to have run a heavy-handed [[police state]] where elections were rigged and dissent was repressed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/354347|title=Heidar Aliev, maestro of the Caucasus|date=31 August 2000|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=3 September 2017|issn=0013-0613}}
"There is stability, because Mr Aliev is an acute tactician who runs a heavy-handed police state. Opposition leaders who decline to be co-opted are in jail, in exile or bullied. Elections are rigged, the media muzzled."</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/dispatches/features/2008/travels_in_the_former_soviet_union/the_cult_of_heydar_aliyev.html|title=Travels in the Former Soviet Union|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=20 May 2008|work=Slate|access-date=3 September 2017|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339}}</ref> A [[Heydar Aliyev's cult of personality|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 [[2003 Azerbaijani presidential election|fraudulent election]] and continues to lead Azerbaijan to this day.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|date=14 December 2003|title=Azerbaijan: Biography Of Deceased Former President Heidar Aliyev|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-biography-of-deceased-former-president-heidar-aliyev|access-date=4 October 2021|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref>

== Career in the Soviet era ==

=== Early life ===
[[File:Heydar Aliyev childhood.jpg|thumb|left|alt= Black-and-white photo depicting four women, two men, and three young children|Heydar Aliyev with his family in 1920s]]
According to both his official biography and the [[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]], Aliyev was born on 10 May 1923 in the city of [[Nakhchivan (city)|Nakhchivan]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=2018 |title=In Armenia, Azerbaijani Leader's Ancestral Village Lies Abandoned |work=Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/in-armenia-azerbaijani-leaders-ancestral-village-lies-abandoned}}</ref> His family had moved to Nakhchivan before his birth from the village of Comardlı (modern-day [[Tanahat]] in the [[Syunik Province]] of Armenia), located only a few miles from Nakhchivan.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|date=10 May 2015|title=Armenian Tanahat (Jomartlou); The Native Village of Haydar Aliyev|url=http://www.aniarc.am/2015/05/10/tanahat-jomartlou-the-native-village-of-the-worlds-most-famous-azerbaijani-haydar-aliyev/|access-date=19 December 2021|website=ANI Armenian Research Center}}</ref> Some sources claim that Aliyev was actually born 2 years earlier in Comardlı, but that it was later decided that a senior Azerbaijani politician should not have an Armenian place of birth.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|title=Heidar Aliev: A Political Colossus|url=https://iwpr.net/global-voices/heidar-aliev-political-colossus|access-date=19 December 2021|website=iwpr.net|language=en}}</ref><ref name="dewaal">{{cite book|last=De Waal|first=Thomas|url=|title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War|date=2003|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=0-8147-1944-9|location=New York and London|pages=306|quote=Some maintain that Heidar Aliev was actually born in Armenia in 1921, not in Nakhichevan in 1923. His younger brother, Jalal Aliev, interviewed on 4 November 2000, said that the Aliev family came from the village of Jomartly in Zangezur but had moved to Nakhichevan by the time Heidar was born.|author-link=}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> His father was from Comardlı<ref name="auto1"/> and his mother was from [[Vorotan, Sisian|Vorotan]] (also in modern-day Syunik Province of Armenia).<ref name="auto"/> Aliyev had four brothers: [[Hasan Aliyev (academician)|Hasan]], [[Huseyn Aliyev|Huseyn]], [[Jalal Aliyev|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.<ref name="biography">{{cite web|title=Biography|url=http://heydaraliyevcenter.az/#2_HeydarAliyev|publisher=Heydar Aliyev Center|access-date=20 July 2015}}</ref> According to American journalist [[Pete Earley]], Aliyev first attended the Ministry of State Security Academy in Leningrad and graduated in 1944.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Earley|first1=Pete|title=Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War|date=2008|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|page=200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TxxynN0KTJcC&pg=PT200|isbn=9781101207673}}</ref> He also took Senior Staff Professional Development courses at the [[FSB Academy|Dzerzhinsky Higher School of the KGB]] in Moscow in 1966.<ref name=":1" />

In 1948, Aliyev married [[Zarifa Aliyeva]].<ref>{{cite web|date=28 April 2015|title=Remembering Zarifa Aliyeva - wife, mother, scientist|url=https://www.azernews.az/analysis/81124.html|access-date=16 October 2020|publisher=AzerNews}}</ref> On 12 October 1955, their daughter Sevil Aliyeva was born. On 24 December 1961, their son [[Ilham Aliyev|Ilham]] was born. Zarifa Aliyeva died of cancer in 1985.

=== Early career ===
[[File:Young Heydar Aliyev.jpg|thumb|150px|left|alt=refer to caption|Young Heydar Aliyev]]
During World War II, he served as commander of a [[SMERSH|Smersh]] battalion, which conducted intelligence operations on the Soviet Union's own forces and executed soldiers who deserted or fought insufficiently hard.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |date=2003 |title=Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan's Hard-Nosed 'Savior,' Dies |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/12/13/heydar-aliyev-azerbaijans-hard-nosed-savior-dies/5d2901ae-1c50-41da-96a4-15438d870a56/}}</ref>  

He joined the [[Azerbaijan SSR]] [[People's Commissariat for State Security]] (NKGB) in 1944 and proceeded to become the department head of the [[Committee for State Security of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic|State Security Committee of Azerbaijan SSR]] in 1950, after he graduated from the Senior Staff Training School of the [[KGB|USSR State Security Committee]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://en.president.az/azerbaijan/leader|title=Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev|website=en.president.az|access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref> 

In 1954, as part of a government reform, the NKGB, which was previously named the [[Ministry of State Security (Soviet Union)|Ministry of State Security]] (MGB), was again renamed, this time as the [[KGB]]. Sources point to Aliyev working in the Azerbaijani KGB's Eastern Division, which included Iran and the Middle East.<ref name=":23">{{Cite book |last=Cornell |first=Svante E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aZzCQAAQBAJ |title=Azerbaijan Since Independence |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-47620-7 |pages=42–43 |language=en}}</ref> During this time, Aliyev was a close associate of Semyon Tvsigun.<ref name=":23" /> Aliyev became head of the [[Committee for State Security of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijani KGB]] in 1960<ref name=":19">{{Citation |last=Waal |first=Thomas de |title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War |date=2013 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9780814770825.001.0001/html |work=Black Garden |pages=106 |publisher=New York University Press |language=en |doi=10.18574/nyu/9780814770825.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-8147-7082-5|s2cid=250081480 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and eventually received the rank of [[major general]].<ref name=":20">{{Cite news |date=1984 |title=A Soviet Politician's Rise: Talent and Guile Pay Off |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1984/12/16/a-soviet-politicians-rise-talent-and-guile-pay-off/80d72494-cc2c-4093-aa52-17a11fd0c2ef/}}</ref><ref>Nikolaij Nor-Mesek, Wolfgang Rieper. ''The Defense Council of the USSR'', Institut für Sowjet-Studien, 1984, p. 9</ref> During his time in Soviet Secret Service, Aliyev was mostly unknown in Azerbaijan.<ref name=":20" />

== From KGB to leader of Azerbaijan SSR ==
[[File:Officer Heydar Aliyev.jpg|thumb|left|180px|alt=refer to caption|Aliyev in his [[KGB]] uniform]]
[[File:Гейдар Алиев в Нахичеване. Крайний справа - Владимир Морозков.jpg|thumb|left|alt= A group of men in suits inspecting some plants|Aliyev during his visit to a [[kolkhoz|state collective farm]] in 70s]]
Aliyev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the [[Azerbaijan Communist Party]] at its Plenary Session held on 12 July 1969.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Richard Sakwa. ''Soviet Politics in Perspective'', Routledge, 1998, {{ISBN|0-415-16992-5}}, p. 71</ref><ref>Bernard Anthony Cook. ''Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia'', Taylor & Francis, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8153-4057-5}}, p. 70</ref> He was reportedly selected for the job by Brezhnev after his friend [[Semyon Tsvigun]], Brezhnev's brother-in-law, advocated for Aliyev's selection.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":23" />

Aliyev subsequently dominated affairs in Soviet-era Azerbaijan.<ref name=":19" /> Described as the "Monarch of Azerbaijan", Aliyev established an extensive patronage network across Azerbaijan and profited on the black market.<ref name=":192">{{Citation |last=Waal |first=Thomas de |title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War |date=2013 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9780814770825.001.0001/html |work=Black Garden |pages=148–149 |publisher=New York University Press |language=en |doi=10.18574/nyu/9780814770825.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-8147-7082-5|s2cid=250081480 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":18">[[Harold James Perkin]]. ''The Third Revolution: Professional Elites in the Modern World'', Routledge, 1996, {{ISBN|0-415-14337-3}}, p. 138</ref> According to Harold James Perkin, Aliyev was "surrounded by female ‘volunteers’ whose services were mainly sexual."<ref name=":18" /> 

In his obituary, ''The Washington Post'' wrote, "He made a name for himself by smashing local mafia groups, but his personal circle moved in to profit off oil, caviar and other sectors."<ref name=":6" /> Aliyev was selective in his anti-corruption campaign, as he targeted those that refused to cooperate with him but rewarding and elevating those that did.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moss |first=Walter G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMwdWFtgV0QC |title=A History Of Russia Volume 2: Since 1855 |date=2004 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-0-85728-739-7 |pages=429 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mccauley |first=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqWsAgAAQBAJ |title=The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-86783-8 |pages=384 |language=en}}</ref> 

Aliyev frequently treated Brezhnev with lavish gifts.<ref name=":192" /> The gifts included a ‘Sun-king’ diamond ring worth 226,000 roubles and a jewel-encrusted framed portrait of Brezhnev.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":192" /> Aliyev built a palace for Brezhnev's personal use for his official visit in 1982.<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last=Brennan |first=Dan |date=2003-12-15 |title=Heydar Aliev |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/dec/15/guardianobituaries |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

He promoted individuals from his native Nakhichevan to leadership positions in the Azerbaijan SSR.<ref name=":192" /><ref name=":23" /> He also promoted Azerbaijani culture and language.<ref name=":192" /> 

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.<ref>Louise I. Shelley. ''Policing Soviet Society: The Evolution of State Control'', Routledge, 1996, {{ISBN|0-415-10469-6}}, p. 85</ref>

Aliyev was subsequently promoted to the Moscow Politburo in 1976.<ref name=":18" />

== Career in Moscow ==
Aliyev became a candidate (non-voting) member of the Soviet [[Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee|Politburo]] in 1976. He held this position until December 1982, when [[Yuri Andropov]] promoted him to the office of [[First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union|First Deputy Chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union|USSR Council of Ministers]] and made him a full member of the Politburo.<ref name="mafia">{{cite book |last=Perkin |first=Harold James |url=https://archive.org/details/thirdrevolution00prof/page/204 |title=The Third Revolution: Professional Elites in the Modern World |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |isbn=0415143373 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/thirdrevolution00prof/page/204 204] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=":0">Alexander Hopkins McDannald. ''The Americana Annual: An Encyclopedia of Current Events'', Americana Corporation, 1983, p. 524</ref> Aliyev also served at the Council of Ministers as the first deputy chairman in 1974–1979.<ref name=":1" /> 

Aliyev supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.<ref name=":21">{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Paul |date=2003-12-13 |title=H.A. Aliyev, K.G.B. Officer And Azeri Leader, 80, Dies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/13/world/ha-aliyev-kgb-officer-and-azeri-leader-80-dies.html |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> At the 1981 Party Congress, Aliyev praised Brezhnev profusely.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Taubman |first1=Philip |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1986-02-28 |title=A SOVIET LEADER IN A WIDE-RANGING NEWS SESSION |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/28/world/a-soviet-leader-in-a-wide-ranging-news-session.html |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

On 22 November 1982, Andropov promoted Aliyev from a candidate to a full member of the Soviet Politburo<ref name=":0" /> and appointed him to the post of [[First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union|First Deputy Chairman]] of the Council of Ministers of the USSR,<ref>Martin McCauley. ''Who's Who in Russia Since 1900'', Routledge, 1997, {{ISBN|0-415-13898-1}}, p. 13</ref> responsible for transportation and social services. Aliyev thus attained the highest position ever reached by an Azerbaijani in the Soviet Union.<ref name="East2002">Roger East, Richard Thomas, Alan John Day. ''A Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe'', Routledge, 2002, {{ISBN|1-85743-063-8}}, p. 34</ref>

Aliyev was dismissed from his position as First Deputy Premier and from the Politburo by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] in 1987, officially on health grounds,<ref name="East2002" /><ref name=":13" /> but the two had fallen out over Gorbachev's anti-corruption campaign.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ray |first=Don |title=Forged in fire: the making of an investigative reporter - Corruptistan |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/corruptistan/azerbaijan/2015/06/24/the-making-of-an-investigative-reporter.en.html |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=OCCRP |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":21" /> Aliyev had fallen out with Gorbachev and was one of the gold guard cleared out as part of Gorbachev's [[Perestroika]].<ref name=":22" />

== 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 [[Black January|Soviet military crackdown in Baku]], which had followed the continuing [[Nagorno-Karabakh conflict|conflict regarding Nagorno-Karabakh]].<ref name="East & Thomas 2003">Roger East, Richard J. Thomas. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5VO4AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders]'', Routledge, 2003, {{ISBN|1-85743-126-X}}, p. 32</ref><ref name=":13" />

Almost immediately after this public appearance, Aliyev left Moscow for his native [[Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic|Nakhchivan]]. There, Aliyev reinvented himself as a moderate nationalist. He was elected the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR in Baku in October 1990.<ref name="East & Thomas 2003"/> 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.<ref name="East & Thomas 2003"/>

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 [[Battle of Shusha (1992)|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 [[Azerbaijani Popular Front Party|Azerbaijan Popular Front]] led by [[Abulfaz Elchibey]]. Elchibey was elected as president in Azerbaijan's first free and fair elections in 1992.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Freedom in the World 2009 - Azerbaijan |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/4a6452d2c.html |website=Freedom House}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":1" />

=== 1993 Azerbaijani coup ===
{{Main|1993 Azerbaijani coup d'état}}

In 1993, Elchibey was ousted from power in a Russia-backed military coup led by [[Surat Huseynov]], a military commander that Elchibey had fired.<ref name=":15" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cornell |first=Svante E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aZzCQAAQBAJ |title=Azerbaijan Since Independence |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-47620-7 |pages=78 |language=en |quote=The evidence that Surat Husyenov's coup was engineered in Moscow is as incontrovertible as it gets.}}</ref> Aliyev was installed as President,<ref name=":15" /><ref>United States Library of Congress Country Studies [http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/31.htm Azerbaijan - The Coup of June 1993].</ref> and Aliyev in turn appointed Huseynov as prime minister.<ref name=":16" /> According to historian [[Audrey Altstadt|Audrey Altsadt]] and [[Thomas de Waal]], Aliyev did not appear to have a direct role in the coup.<ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Altstadt |first=Audrey L. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/alts70456 |title=Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan |date=2017 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-70456-4 |pages=62 |doi=10.7312/alts70456|jstor=10.7312/alts70456 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Waal |first=Thomas de |title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War |date=2013 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9780814770825.001.0001/html |work=Black Garden |pages=227 |publisher=New York University Press |language=en |doi=10.18574/nyu/9780814770825.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-8147-7082-5|s2cid=250081480 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In August 1993, Elchibey was stripped of his presidency by a [[1993 Azerbaijani vote of confidence referendum|nationwide referendum]]. 

Aliyev disbanded 33 battalions loyal to Elchibey's Popular Front party.<ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Waal |first=Thomas De |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glByDwAAQBAJ |title=The Caucasus: An Introduction |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-068308-5 |pages=122–123 |language=en}}</ref> Amid this turmoil, Azerbaijan lost enormous swaths of territory to Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and had effectively lost the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]].<ref name=":17" />

== Presidency ==
[[File:Inauguration of Heydar Aliyev.jpg|thumb|alt= Aliyev standing at podium with hand on book|Aliyev during his inauguration]]
On 3 October 1993, Aliyev organized the [[1993 Azerbaijani presidential election]] where he allowed two unknown candidates to run against him.<ref name=":16" /> He was elected [[President of Azerbaijan|President of the Republic of Azerbaijan]] with 98.8 percent of the vote.{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|p=225}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=International Foundation on Election Systems |date=April 1994 |title=Elections Today |journal=Elections Today |volume=4 (Number 2-3) |pages=28 |issn=1073-6719}}</ref> On 11 October 1998, he was re-elected, winning 77 percent of the vote.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1767/|title=IFES Election Guide {{!}} Elections: Azerbaijan Pres 11 Oct 1998|website=www.electionguide.org|language=en|access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref> Aliyev was nominated as a candidate in the [[2003 Azerbaijani presidential election|2003 presidential elections]], but declined to run in the elections in connection with health problems.<ref name=":1" />

=== Nagorno-Karabakh conflict ===

==== Final year of war ====
When Aliyev became chairman of the Supreme Soviet in June 1993, Azerbaijan was suffering from internal division and military collapse, which allowed Armenian forces to capture most of [[Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh|five districts in the southwest of Azerbaijan]] without meeting significant resistance, leading to the displacement of around 350,000 people.{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|p=215}} 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.{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|pp=225-226}} 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.{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|pp=225-226}} 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 Kalbajar|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.{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|p=236-237}}

==== 1994 ceasefire and peace negotiations ====
[[File:Vladimir Putin 30 November 2001-18.jpg|thumb|right|alt=refer to caption|A meeting between Heydar Aliyev, [[Vladimir Putin]] and [[Robert Kocharyan]] in [[Kremlin]] on 30 November 2001]]
In May 1994, with Aliyev's approval, a [[Bishkek Protocol|ceasefire agreement]] was signed by representatives of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the breakaway [[Republic of Artsakh|Nagorno-Karabakh Republic]], which successfully put an end to the hostilities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|pp=239-240}} While agreeing to the ceasefire, Aliyev rejected Russian proposals to deploy a peacekeeping contingent to Nagorno-Karabakh.{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|pp=239-240}} 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".<ref>{{Cite web |last=De Waal |first=Thomas |date=1 August 2010 |title=Remaking the Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Process |url=https://carnegieeurope.eu/2010/08/01/remaking-nagorno-karabakh-peace-process-pub-41367 |access-date=13 May 2022 |website=Carnegie Europe |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 December 1996 |title=Lisbon Document 1996 |url=https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/1/0/39539.pdf |access-date=13 May 2022 |website=OSCE}}</ref>

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 the [[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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carley |first=Patricia |date=1 December 1998 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh: Searching for a Solution |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/1998/12/nagorno-karabakh-searching-solution-0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310235242/https://www.usip.org/publications/1998/12/nagorno-karabakh-searching-solution-0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2017 |access-date=13 May 2022 |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=Hakobyan |first=Tatul |date=1 April 2016 |title=Stages of the Karabakh conflict in the 1990s and attempts at resolution |url=https://jam-news.net/no-peace-war/ |access-date=13 May 2022 |website=JAMnews}}</ref> Aliyev participated in bilateral talks with the new president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, in spring 1999 and again in January 2001.<ref name=":14" />{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|p=267}} 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.<ref name=":14" /> 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.<ref name=":14" />{{Sfn|De Waal|2003|pp=4, 267-268}} 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 [[1995 Azerbaijani constitutional referendum|public debate]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Semi-Presidentialism in the Caucasus and Central Asia|last=Robert Elgie, Sophia Moestrup|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2016|isbn=978-1-137-38780-6|pages=98}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Azerbaijan Since Independence|last=Svante E. Cornell|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=9780765630025|pages=90–91}}</ref> To ensure separation of power, the constitution created 3 divisions: legislative ([[National Assembly (Azerbaijan)|Milli Majlis]]), executive (President) and judicial (courts).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://en.president.az/azerbaijan/constitution|title=Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic - AZERBAIJAN » Constitution|website=en.president.az|language=en|access-date=17 March 2018}}</ref>

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]], which was married  by fraud.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-09-26 |title=Azerbaijan Holds Controversial Constitutional Referendum |language=en |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-referendums-constitutional-changes-aliyev/28012681.html}}</ref> 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 [[Ombudsman|ombudsmen]] to appeal directly to the [[Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/NISPAcee/UNPAN012372.pdf|title=Nations in Transit 2003: Country Report of Azerbaijan|last=United Nations Public Administration Network|access-date=17 March 2018|archive-date=23 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223010101/http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/NISPAcee/UNPAN012372.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/framework/16449|title=Decision of the Central Election Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the results of the referendum held on August 24, 2002 in order to make amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan|website=www.e-qanun.az|access-date=17 March 2018}}</ref>

==== Repression of veterans groups ====
Aliyev perceived the military as a threat to his rule.<ref name=":19" /> Many of the military commanders from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were imprisoned by his government.<ref name=":19" /> When war veterans from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict protested against his government, the government arrested many of them and shut down the veterans rights organization.<ref name=":19" />

==== Abolition of the death penalty ====
Aliyev requested the elimination of the death penalty on 3 February 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyevheritage.org/az/6551331.html|title=Address of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev to Milli Majlis on the abolition of the death penalty in the Republic of Azerbaijan|website=lib.aliyevheritage.org|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> Milli Majlis approved the draft law on 10 February 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/framework/4974|title=Azərbaycan Respublikasında ölüm cəzasının ləğv olunması ilə əlaqədar Azərbaycan Respublikasının Cinayət, Cinayət-Prosessual və İslah-Əmək Məcəllələrinə dəyişikliklər və əlavələr edilməsi haqqında|website=www.e-qanun.az|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> As a result, capital punishment was replaced with life imprisonment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://jamestown.org/program/capital-punishment-banned-in-azerbaijan/|title=Capital Punishment banned in Azerbaijan|work=Jamestown|access-date=19 March 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penalreform.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/South-Caucasus-Research-Report-Death-Penalty-and-Alternatives-ENGLISH.pdf|title=The abolition of the death penalty and its alternative sanction in South Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://treaties.un.org/PAGES/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-12&chapter=4&clang=_en#EndDec|title=United Nations Treaty Collection - Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty|language=EN|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>

==== Agrarian and land reform ====
{{Main article|Agrarian reforms in Azerbaijan}}
[[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 farming|collective]] and state farms was the focus of these laws.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|title=Rural Transition in Azerbaijan|last=Zvi Lerman, David Sedik|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2010|isbn=9780739143186|location=USA|pages=75–80}}</ref> Examples of these laws include "the Basis of Agrarian Reform" (18 February 1995);<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/alpidata/framework/data/9/f_9164.htm|title=Law on the Basis of Agrarian Reform of the Republic of Azerbaijan|website=www.e-qanun.az|access-date=9 April 2018|archive-date=24 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124121716/http://www.e-qanun.az/alpidata/framework/data/9/f_9164.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> "Reform of state and collective farms" (18 February 1995);<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/alpidata/framework/data/9/f_9207.htm|title=The law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Reform of state and collective farms|website=www.e-qanun.az|access-date=9 April 2018|archive-date=17 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317132607/http://www.e-qanun.az/alpidata/framework/data/9/f_9207.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> and "Land Reform" (16 July 1996).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.emdk.gov.az/kadastr/index.php/az/ar-qanunlar/243-torpazh-islahat-hazhzh-nda-az-rbaydzan-respublikas-n-n-zhanunu|title=The law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on land reform|website=State Property Issues Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan|access-date=9 April 2018|archive-date=9 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409233428/http://www.emdk.gov.az/kadastr/index.php/az/ar-qanunlar/243-torpazh-islahat-hazhzh-nda-az-rbaydzan-respublikas-n-n-zhanunu|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Postsocialist Agrarian Question: Property Relations and the Rural Condition|last=C. M. Hann|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|year=2003|isbn=9783825865320|pages=239}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/framework/9217|title=Decree of the President of Azerbaijan on the formation of the State Commission on Agrarian Reforms|website=www.e-qanun.az|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>
* 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 (Azerbaijan)|Ministry of Agriculture]] was reorganized by a presidential decree dated 6 June 1998 (On Ratification of the Statue on the Ministry of Agriculture),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/framework/3592|title=Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Ratification of the Statue on the Ministry of Agriculture|website=www.e-qanun.az - Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Single electronic base of normative legal acts of Azerbaijan|language=az|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> the law on "State land cadaster, land monitoring and structure" (22 December 1998),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.emdk.gov.az/kadastr/index.php/az/ar-qanunlar/241-doevl-t-torpazh-kadastr-torpazhlar-n-monitorinzhi-v-yerzhurulusu-hazhzh-nda-az-rbaydzan-respublikas-n-n-zhanunu|title=Law on State land cadaster, land monitoring and structure|website=www.emdk.gov.az|language=az-az|access-date=9 April 2018|archive-date=9 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409171925/http://www.emdk.gov.az/kadastr/index.php/az/ar-qanunlar/241-doevl-t-torpazh-kadastr-torpazhlar-n-monitorinzhi-v-yerzhurulusu-hazhzh-nda-az-rbaydzan-respublikas-n-n-zhanunu|url-status=dead}}</ref> a decree on "Land rent" (12 March 1999),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/framework/5051|title=Decree on land rent|website=www.e-qanun.az|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> and a law on "land market" (7 May 1999).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/alpidata/framework/data/4/f_4755.htm|title=Law on land market|website=www.e-qanun.az|access-date=9 April 2018|archive-date=9 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309113316/http://www.e-qanun.az/alpidata/framework/data/4/f_4755.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>  The Land Code of Azerbaijani Republic was approved by the Law on "Approval of Land Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/code/6|title=The Land Code of Azerbaijan Republic|website=www.e-qanun.az|access-date=9 April 2018|archive-date=9 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409172007/http://www.e-qanun.az/code/6|url-status=dead}}</ref> (25 June 1999).<ref name=":8" />

=== Foreign policy ===
==== Relations with the United Nations ====
During Aliyev's presidency, Azerbaijan began actively participating in international organizations such as the United Nations. Aliyev attended the 49th session of the [[United Nations General Assembly|UN General Assembly]] (UN GA) in 1994 and the special session of UN GA dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in October 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mfa.gov.az/index.php?options=content&id=751|title=Azerbaijan - UN relations|website=mfa.gov.az|language=az|access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref> He received former [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyevheritage.org/en/9646663.html|title=Azerbaijani - United Nations relations|website=lib.aliyevheritage.org|access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref> Aliyev addressed the [[Millennium Summit|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 [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 822|822]], [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 853|853]], [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 874|874]], [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 884|884]], which demanded unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/en/4303106.html|title=Speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the Millennium summit in New York - September 7, 2000|website=lib.aliyev-heritage.org|access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref> After [[September 11 attacks|11 September attacks]], Azerbaijan joined the anti-terror coalition of UN and cooperated with Office of Counter-Terrorism and Sanctions Committee of the [[United Nations Security Council|UN SC]]. In October 2001, Azerbaijan joined the [[Terrorist Financing Convention|International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism]] adopted by [[United Nations Security Council|UN SC]] in 1999.<ref name=":2" />

==== Relations with NATO ====
The [[Partnership for Peace]] (PfP) Framework Document was signed to enhance security and defense cooperation with [[NATO]] on 4 May 1994.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=http://nato-pfp.mfa.gov.az/content/18|title=Overview of Azerbaijan-NATO Partnership|website=nato-pfp.mfa.gov.az|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-date=2 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102182815/http://nato-pfp.mfa.gov.az/content/18|url-status=dead}}</ref> Aliyev approved the PfP Presentation Document on 19 April 1996. In November 1997, Azerbaijan joined the PfP Planning and Review Process.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|url=http://nato-pfp.mfa.gov.az/content/31|title=Key milestones of Azerbaijan-NATO Cooperation|website=nato-pfp.mfa.gov.az|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-date=2 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102180737/http://nato-pfp.mfa.gov.az/content/31|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[NATO Parliamentary Assembly|NATO PA]] also made Azerbaijan an associate member of NATO in November.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=http://mfa.gov.az/files/file/Az-NATO_15_years%201(eng).pdf|title=Azerbaijan-NATO 15 years of partnership|publisher=Mission of Azerbaijan to NATO|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-date=5 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305014624/http://mfa.gov.az/files/file/Az-NATO_15_years%201(eng).pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Relations with the 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 [[Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States|TACIS]] and [[TRACECA]] programmes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.az/en/content/555|title=Azerbaijan and European Union|website=www.mfa.gov.az|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-date=18 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618152901/http://mfa.gov.az/en/content/555|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 (country)|Georgia]] with the support of the TACIS and TRACECA programmes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.traceca-org.org/en/home/baku-initiative/|title=Baku Initiative|website=www.traceca-org.org|language=en|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323155047/http://www.traceca-org.org/en/home/baku-initiative/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Relations with the 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 to 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 Council of Europe|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyevheritage.org/en/1252585.html|title=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)"|website=lib.aliyevheritage.org|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> 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),<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyevheritage.org/en/6937308.html|title=Azerbaijan - Council of Europe|website=lib.aliyevheritage.org|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> "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"<ref name=":7" /> (14 May 1999) were adopted by Aliyev.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://elibrary.bsu.az/books_460/N_62.pdf|title=Azerbaijan and Council of Europe|publisher=The Council on State Support to Non-Governmental Organization under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan|year=2009|isbn=978-9952-442-26-7|location=Baku|access-date=9 April 2018|archive-date=21 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921193829/http://elibrary.bsu.az/books_460/N_62.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== 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 the Parliament of Azerbaijan:<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyevheritage.org/az/80868237.html|title=Azerbaijan-Russia relations|website=Heydar Aliyev Heritage - international online library|language=az|access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> "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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/en/3857190.html|title=Speech of Heydar Aliyev, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Azerbaijan, at the meeting of the Parliament - June 15, 1993|website=Heydar Aliyev Heritage - International Online Library|access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> The Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security between Russia and Azerbaijan was signed on 3 July 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://moscow.mfa.gov.az/az/content/3|title=Azerbaijan-Russia relations|website=moscow.mfa.gov.az|language=az|access-date=1 May 2018|archive-date=30 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430211135/http://moscow.mfa.gov.az/az/content/3|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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).<ref name=":9" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Aslanli|first=Araz|date=Fall 2010|title=Azerbaijan-Russia relations: Is the foreign policy strategy of Azerbaijan changing?|url=http://turkishpolicy.com/pdf/vol_9-no_3-aslanli.pdf|journal=Turkish Policy Quarterly|volume=9|pages=137–145}}</ref>

==== Relations with the US ====
[[File:President Bill Clinton and Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan.jpg|thumb|right|Aliyev with US President [[Bill Clinton]] in November 1999]]
[[File:President George W. Bush and Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan.jpg|thumb|right|Aliyev with US President [[George W. Bush]] in February 2003]]
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."<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/en/6555664.html|title=Official visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev to the United States of America (July 27 - August 6, 1997)|website=Heydar Aliyev Heritage - International Online Library|access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":10" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.e-qanun.az/framework/4250|title=Presidential order on Measures to expand partnership relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States|website=Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan - internet database of normative legal acts|language=az|access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> Azerbaijan joined a US-lead international coalition against terrorism after 11 September attacks,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQ_vAgAAQBAJ&q=azerbaijan+joined+global+anti-terrorist+coalition+led+by+us&pg=PA163|title=Establishing Security and Stability in the Wider Black Sea Area: International Politics and the New and Emerging Democracies|publisher=IOS Press|year=2007|isbn=9781607502593|editor1=P.M.E. Volten |editor2=B. Tashev|pages=163}}</ref> and sent a military contingent to Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fctqqIAnwp0C&q=azerbaijan+joined+global+anti-terrorist+coalition+led+by+us&pg=PA28|title=Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002|publisher=United States Department of State|date=April 2003|pages=28}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-107publ115/html/PLAW-107publ115.htm |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}</ref>

=== Oil strategy ===
[[File:Baku pipelines.svg|thumb|alt= Four oil pipelines fan out from Sangachal Terminal on the Caspian Sea coast to the south-west of Baku, with one heading north into Russia while the other three avoid Armenia by running through Georgia, with one terminating on the Georgian Black Sea coast, one terminating in Turkey, and the other terminating on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.|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]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nasser Sagheb and Masoud Javadi|date=Winter 1994|title=Azerbaijan's "Contract of the Century" Finally Signed with Western Oil Consortium|url=https://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/24_folder/24_articles/24_aioc.html|journal=Azerbaijan International|pages=26–28, 65}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web|url=http://aliyevheritage.org/en/oilstrategy.html|title=Oil strategy of Azerbaijan|website=Heydar Aliyev's Heritage Research Center|access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref> the “Agreement on the Joint Development and Production Sharing for the [[Azeri oilfield|Azeri]] and [[Chirag oilfield|Chirag]] Fields and the Deep Water Portion of the [[Gunashli oilfield|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bp.com/en_az/caspian/operationsprojects/ACG.html|title=Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli {{!}} Operations and projects {{!}} Caspian|website=bp.com|language=en|access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/en/917277.html|title=General historical background of "the Contract of the Century"|website=Heydar Aliyevs Heritage Research Center|access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oilfund.az/en/fund/about/history|title=History of State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan|website=State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan|access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref> As a result of the oil strategy developed by Aliyev, Azerbaijani oil was planned to be carried through different routes as [[Baku–Supsa Pipeline|Baku–Supsa]], [[Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline]] (BTC), etc.<ref name=":11" /> In order to export Azerbaijani oil to the European market, the presidents of Azerbaijan, [[Georgia (country)|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 [[Eduard Shevardnadze|Edward Shevardnadze]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.socarmidstream.az/project/btc/#timeline|title=Timeline of Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC)|website=www.socarmidstream.az|access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://files.preslib.az/site/10il/gl1.pdf|title="Əsrin müqaviləsi"nə gedən yol|last=Presidential Library of Azerbaijan|pages=24}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book|url=http://files.preslib.az/projects/azerbaijan/eng/gl4.pdf|title=Economy of Azerbaijan|last=Presidential Library of Azerbaijan|pages=24}}</ref>

The decision to export Azerbaijani crude oil to the [[Port of Novorossiysk]] was made through a contract signed in Moscow on 18 February 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/az/5808739.html|title=İlkin neftin Rusiya ərazisi vasitəsilə nəqli haqqında sazişlərin imzalanması mərasimində Azərbaycan Respublikasının Prezidenti Heydər Əliyevin nitqi|website=Heydar Aliyevs Heritage Research Center|access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref><ref name=":12" /> Oil transportation through this route was realized in October 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kreml.org/opinions/112939144/|title=Kreml.org {{!}} Маршруты транспортировки азербайджанской нефти - источник политических разногласий на международном уровне|website=www.kreml.org|access-date=14 February 2019|archive-date=2 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102094842/http://www.kreml.org/opinions/112939144/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Establishment of the alternative [[Baku–Supsa Pipeline|Baku–Supsa]] route was agreed on 8 March 1996 by Aliyev and Shevardnadze. The Baku–Supsa route began operation in April 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Economy/_OilStrategy/oilStrategy_05_e.html|title=Transport routes of Azerbaijani oil (Baku-Novorossiysk, Baku-Supsa)|website=www.azerbaijan.az|access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Pipelines: Flowing Oil and Crude Politics|last=Rafael Kandiyoti|year=2012|isbn=9781848858398|pages=165|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref>

== Death and successor ==
[[File:Heydar Aliyev International Airport. Domestic terminal at night.jpg|thumb|alt= Two-storey building with a concrete-and-glass façade with a large neon sign reading "Heydər Əliyev" on the roof|The [[Heydar Aliyev International Airport]] in Baku]]
{{main|Death and state funeral of Heydar Aliyev|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 did not return to Azerbaijan again.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cornell |first=Svante E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aZzCQAAQBAJ |title=Azerbaijan Since Independence |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-47620-7 |pages=105 |language=en}}</ref> 

Less than two weeks before the [[2003 Azerbaijani presidential election]], he withdrew his candidacy and appointed his son Ilham as his party's sole presidential candidate.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hale |first=Henry E. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/patronal-politics/4C1B4D49A7F17739E75A5AB7B66E2115 |title=Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-07351-7 |pages=293 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139683524}}</ref> On 12 December 2003, President Aliyev died at 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 16 December 2003</ref> 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.<ref name="HRW_AZ_pres_elec2003" />

== Honours ==
{{See also|Statue of Heydar Aliyev, Mexico City}}

[[File:Hajdar_Alijev.JPG|thumb|right|alt= Statue of Aliyev in a park with cyrillic script on plinth below|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|Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called]]—Russia's supreme award.<ref name="aliyev"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-mexico-aliyev-statue/24884801.html|title=Mexico City Removes Aliyev Statue|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=27 January 2013 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/belgrade_erects_statue_to_ex-azerbaijani_president/24229017.html|title=Belgrade Erects Statue To Former Azerbaijani President|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=8 June 2011 }}</ref> In August 2012 a statue of Aliyev which had been gifted to Mexico by the Azerbaijani embassy was [[Statue of Heydar Aliyev, Mexico City|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 [[Kassym-Jomart Tokayev|Kazakhstan]] and [[Ilham Aliyev|Azerbaijan]] took part in the opening ceremony.<ref>{{Cite web|lang=en|url=https://www.inform.kz/en/presidents-of-kazakhstan-and-azerbaijan-inaugurate-heydar-aliyev-street-in-astana_a4055364|title=Presidents of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan inaugurate Heydar Aliyev Street in Astana|website=www.inform.kz|date=2023-04-10|access-date=}}</ref>

=== Full list of honours and awards ===
;Soviet Union
* [[Hero 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
* {{Flag|Turkey}}: First Class of the [[Order of the State of Republic of Turkey]] (1997)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haberler.com/dostluk-iliskilerine-katkinin-altin-sembolu-devlet-4331381-haberi/|title=Dostluk İlişkilerine Katkının Altın Sembolü: Devlet ve Cumhuriyet Nişanları (Turkish) - The Gold Symbol Contribution of Friendly Relations: State and Republic Orders|publisher=Haberler.com|access-date=26 October 2015|date=February 2013}}</ref>
* {{Flag|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"
* {{Flag|Turkey}}: Silk Road Service Award by the [[Silk Road Fund]] (1998)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Azərbaycan Prezidenti Heydər Əliyevin Türkiyədə layiq görüldüyü "Dədə Qorqud", "İnsan haqları" mükafatlarının, "İpək yolu" vaqfinin fəxri üzvü diplomunun və mükafatının təqdimetmə mərasimində çıxışı|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/az/7526715.html|access-date=3 April 2019|website="Heydar Aliyev Heritage" International Online Library}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Turkey}}: [[Atatürk International Peace Prize]] (1999)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Atatürk Uluslararası Barış Ödülü – AYK|url=https://www.ayk.gov.tr/s9-hakkmzda/baris-odulu/ataturk-uluslararasi-baris-odulu-2/|access-date=25 June 2020|website=www.ayk.gov.tr|date=3 July 2015 }}</ref>
* {{Flag|Russia}}: [[Order of St. Andrew]] (10 May 2003) – "for his great personal contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan"
* {{Flag|Russia}}: [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]] National Prize named after [[Ivan Yakovlev]] (2000)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/ru/3854428.html|title=Из беседы Президента Азербайджанской Республики Гейдара Алиева с делегацией Чувашской Республики, возглавляемой Президентом Всечувашского общественно-культурного центра, председателем комиссии по всечувашским национальным премиям имени И.Я.Яковлева, народным писателем, академиком Мишши Юхмой|website="Heydar Aliyev Heritage" International Online Library|access-date=3 April 2019}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Georgia}}: [[Order of the Golden Fleece (Georgia)|Order of the Golden Fleece]] (2001)
* {{Flag|Kazakhstan}}: [[Astana Medal]]
* {{Flag|France}}: Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honour]] (2003)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/en/178352.html|title=Azerbaijani-French relations|website="Heydar Aliyev Heritage" International Online Library|access-date=3 April 2019}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Ukraine}}: "Gloria Populi" award of Golden Fortune International Scientific Organization<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lib.aliyev-heritage.org/az/54188192.html|title=Azərbaycan Respublikasının Prezidenti Heydər Əliyevin Ukraynanın Müdafiə Naziri, ordu generalı Aleksandr Kuzmuk və "Qızıl tale" Beynəlxalq Açıq Məşhurluq Reytinqinin Baş direktorluğunun sədri Dmitri Akimov ilə görüşdə söhbəti|website="Heydar Aliyev Heritage" International Online Library|access-date=3 April 2019}}</ref>
* {{ill|Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 1st class (ROC)|ru|Орден Преподобного Сергия Радонежского}}
* [[Order "Sheikh-ul-Islam"]] (posthumously)

== See also ==
* [[President of Azerbaijan]]
* [[Politics of Azerbaijan]]
* [[Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan]]
* [[Foreign relations of Azerbaijan]]
* [[List of political parties in Azerbaijan]]
* [[List of leaders of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic]]
* [[Supreme Assembly (Nakhchivan)|Supreme Assembly]] of the [[Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="HRW_AZ_pres_elec2003">{{cite web | title= Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003 | website= [[Human Rights Watch]] |date =13 October 2003 | url =https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/azerbaijan/1.htm | access-date = 21 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201020225922/https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/eca/azerbaijan/1.htm |archive-date= 20 October 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [http://heydaraliyevcenter.az/#2_HeydarAliyev Official website]
* [http://aliyevheritage.org/ Official website Heydar Aliyev Foundation]
* [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/93_folder/93_articles/93_aliyev.html Envisioning the Nation - Interview: Azerbaijan's President, Heydar Aliyev]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{succession box
|title=First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party
|before=[[Vali Akhundov]]
|years=1969–1982
|after=[[Kamran Bagirov]]
}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|title=Parliamentary Chairman of Nakhchivan
|before=none
|years=1991–1993
|after=[[Vasif Talibov]]
}}
{{succession box
|title=[[President of Azerbaijan]]
|before=[[Abulfaz Elchibey]]
|years=1993–2003
|after=[[Ilham Aliyev]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{AzerbaijanPresidents}}
{{USSRpremier}}
{{Chairpersons of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan}}
{{27th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union}}
{{26th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union}}
{{25th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union}}

{{Ilham Aliyev}}
{{Brezhnev Era}}
{{Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aliyev, Heydar}}
[[Category:Heydar Aliyev| ]]
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:First secretaries of the Azerbaijan Communist Party]]
[[Category:Burials at Alley of Honor]]
[[Category:Chairmen of the National Assembly (Azerbaijan)]]
[[Category:Critics of Islamism]]
[[Category:Deaths from congestive heart failure]]
[[Category:Deniers of the Armenian genocide]]
[[Category:Eighth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union]]
[[Category:Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union]]
[[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Heroes of Socialist Labour]]
[[Category:KGB officers]]
[[Category:Leaders who took power by coup]]
[[Category:New Azerbaijan Party politicians]]
[[Category:Ninth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union]]
[[Category:People from Nakhchivan]]
[[Category:Deputy heads of government of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Candidates of the Politburo of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Candidates of the Politburo of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Members of the Politburo of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Presidents of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Acting presidents of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Georgia)]]
[[Category:Resigned Communist Party of the Soviet Union members]]
[[Category:Tenth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union]]
[[Category:Leaders of political parties in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Baku State University alumni]]