Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev was born on 10 May 1923 in the city of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. In 1939, after graduating from Nakhchivan Pedagogical School he entered Azerbaijan Industrial Institute (present Azerbaijan State Oil and Industrial University), Faculty of Architecture/In 1957, he graduated from Azerbaijan State University (presently Baku State University), Faculty of History. In 1967, he was elected as chairman of the State Security Committee under the Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR and was promoted to the rank of a 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. In May-June 1993, when Azerbaijan was at the verge of civil war and loss of independence, the people of Azerbaijan demanded to bring Heydar Aliyev to power. The leadership of Azerbaijan was forced to invite Heydar Aliyev to Baku. On 3 October 1993, in a nationwide voting which saw high turnout, Heydar Aliyev was elected as President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 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. Historical destiny of Azerbaijan, covering the period of over the thirty latest years, was inseparably linked with the name of Heydar Aliyev. Revival of the people during these years in all spheres of its socio-political, economic and cultural life is connected just with his name. During the said period of his leadership, Heydar Aliyev helped his native land Azerbaijan, the progress that he persistently strived towards, the rich culture, great historical past with which he was proud of, and on the coming generations on whom he was concerned, to overcome as a state heavy and sharp ordeals of time.