Azernews.Az

Five years have passed since the death of Azerbaijani leader and former president Heydar Aliyev.
President Ilham Aliyev, scores of government officials, well-known figures and rank-and-file Azerbaijanis paid tribute on Friday at the Alley of Honors where the former president was laid to rest.
The anniversary of Heydar Aliyev`s death was marked outside Azerbaijan, as well. In Romania, those attending the commemoration ceremony, organized by the Azerbaijani embassy in Romania, included prominent public figures, intellectuals, Romanian parliament members, representatives of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Romania and the Azerbaijani-Romanian Chamber of Commerce.
A similar ceremony was also held in St. Petersburg. Addressing the event were the chief consuls of Azerbaijan and Turkey in the Russian city, Gudsi Osmanov and Mehmet Cetin, and a representative of the city administration, Mikhail Prokhorenko. Also present were Azerbaijanis living in what is often referred to as "Russia`s northern capital."
Azerbaijani MP Siyavush Novruzov noted that Heydar Aliyev`s work had always been in the public spotlight.
"When Heydar Aliyev came to power in 1969, Azerbaijanis accounted for only 40% of Baku`s population. Thanks to his efforts, the indicator changed. During his work at the Central Committee (governing body) of the USSR Communist Party, he was an advocate of not only Azerbaijanis but all Muslim nations," Novruzov said.

Biography
Aliyev was born in Nakhchivan to a worker`s family in 1923. He graduated from the Azerbaijan State University history department and held high posts in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from 1941-1944. Heydar Aliyev began working for security agencies in the 1940s and acted as chairman of the State Security Committee of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) from 1967-1969.
Aliyev headed Azerbaijan beginning in 1969. He also held top posts in the Soviet Union`s leadership from 1982 till 1987. However, in 1987, as a result of internal bickering in the USSR leadership, Aliyev resigned from his positions in the Political Bureau and the Council of Ministers.
Heydar Aliyev`s return to power in 1993 during the June developments in Azerbaijan and saved the country from the threat of civil war. He was then elected President of independent Azerbaijan and remained head of state for ten years.
Heydar Aliyev passed away at the age of 80 due to heart problems on December 12, 2003 in a hospital in Cleveland, in the United States.