Authorities Celebrate 96th Anniversary of Heydar Aliyev�s Birth

Baku / 10.05.19 / Turan: Today marks the 96th anniversary of the birth of ex-President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. On this occasion, President Ilham Aliyev visited the grave of H. Aliyev at the Alley of Honorary Burial along with his family members and other heads of state and government, and representatives of the public.

Heydar Aliyev was born in 1923. He served in the state security services of the USSR. In 1969-82 H. Aliyev was the leader of Soviet Azerbaijan. In 1982-87 H. Aliyev served as the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and a member of the Political Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee. In 1990, H. Aliyev returned to politics and first headed the Supreme Council of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and in 1993 became the President of Azerbaijan. He was twice elected to this post. H. Aliyev died in the clinic of Cleveland, Ohio, USA on December 12, 2003.

The political activity of H. Aliyev is ambiguously evaluated in the society. Some people consider him an "architect, savior and creator" of modern Azerbaijan. Meanwhile opposition representatives believe that a number of problems in the country are still not resolved due to the mistakes of H. Aliyev. -06D--