Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev was born on May 10, 1923 in the town of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. In 1939, after graduating from the Nakhchivan Pedagogical School, he studied at the architectural department of the Industrial Institute of Azerbaijan (now the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University). The commencement of the Second World War did not allow him to complete his education. In 1941, Heydar Aliyev was appointed the head of the department at the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs and Council of People’s Commissars of Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and in 1944 he was sent to work in the state security organs. After graduating from the USSR State Security Committee`s (KGB) Senior Staff Training School in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1949-1950, Heydar Aliyev was appointed head of the department at the State Security Committee of Azerbaijan SSR in 1950. Heydar Aliyev graduated from the faculty of history at Azerbaijan State University (now Baku State University) in 1957.

In 1958, Heydar Aliyev was appointed as the head of the Counter-Intelligence Department of the State Security Committee of Azerbaijan SSR. In 1964, he became the deputy chairman of the State Security Committee under the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR, and in 1967, he was appointed as the chairman of the State Security Committee, rising to the rank of Major General.

Heydar Aliyev was elected as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan at its Plenary Session held on 12 July 1969 and became the leader of the republic. In 1976, he was nominated as a candidate member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and in December 1982, he was elected as a full member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and appointed as First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, becoming one of the leaders of the USSR. For twenty-two years, Heydar Aliyev had been a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and Azerbaijan SSR, and for five years he held the post of the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of USSR. In October 1987, in protest at the policy pursued by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and personally by Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev, Heydar Aliyev resigned from his posts.

On January 21, 1990, Heydar Aliyev issued a statement at Azerbaijan`s Representative Office in Moscow in response to the bloody tragedy committed by Soviet troops in Baku on January 20, demanding the punishment of the organizers and perpetrators of the crime against the Azerbaijani people. As a sign of protest against the hypocritical policy of the USSR leadership towards the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, he left the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in July 1991.

After his return to Azerbaijan in July 1990, Heydar Aliyev lived first in Baku, then in Nakhchivan, and in the same year he was elected as a member of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan. In 1991-1993 he held the post of the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as well as Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In 1992, at the constituent congress of the New Azerbaijan Party in Nakhchivan, Heydar Aliyev was elected chairman of the party. In May-June 1993, due to the threat of civil war and loss of independence in the country, the Azerbaijani people demanded the appointment of Heydar Aliyev to power, and the country’s leadership at that time was forced to invite Heydar Aliyev to Baku. On 15 June 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected as chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, and on 24 July – on the resolution of the parliament, he began to perform the powers of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On October 3, 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On October 11, 1998, he was re-elected as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, having received 76.1% of the votes in the elections held under conditions of high public activity. Having agreed to run for the presidential office at the 15 October 2003 election, he then withdrew his candidacy in favor of Ilham Aliyev in connection with health problems. 

Heydar Aliyev was awarded a number of international awards, honorary doctorates from various universities around the world, and other prestigious honorary titles. He was awarded the “Lenin” Order four times, the Order of the Red Star, twice entitled Hero of Socialist Labor, as well as orders and medals from many foreign countries. 

The historical legacy encompassing more than thirty years of Azerbaijan’s history is indelibly linked with the name of Heydar Aliyev. Throughout these years, the progress of the people’s social, political, economic, and cultural life has been associated with his name. During his leadership, Heydar Aliyev, taking pride in his country’s rich cultural heritage and long history,  keeping in mind the needs and aspirations of future generations has been working tirelessly for the progress of Azerbaijan, eventually he was able to lead the country through difficult and challenging times. 

As a great political and state official and an unparalleled leader of the people, Heydar Aliyev became a living legend during his lifetime, therefore, the Heydar Aliyev phenomenon has always attracted attention, and the extensive political activity of the National Leader of world Azerbaijanis generating admiration, has been widely covered in both domestic and international media.

The legacy of the Great Leader of independent Azerbaijan to the current and future generations, as well as his rich and diverse heritage, is the national treasure of our nation. In order to preserve and protect this sacred heritage, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, by referring to Article 109, paragraph 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has signed a Decree declaring 2023 as the “Year of Heydar Aliyev”. www.aboutheydaraliyev.com portal which has been prepared based on the decree of the President and dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, is a comprehensive online resource containing various ideas and thoughts about the Great Leader, who shed light on the future of the Azerbaijani people. This resource brings together some 400 quotes and remarks made about Heydar Aliyev by influential individuals from different sectors, including government and executive officials, public and political figures, scholars, cultural and religious leaders, representatives of international organizations, and businesspeople, offering an opportunity to deeply study Heydar Aliyev’s political activity and leadership legacy.