... was the third President of Azerbaijan, serving from 1993 to 2003. In his time he was the undisputed leader of his country, bringing about economic development despite coming to power at a time of political and economic crisis.
He stood down in 2003 owing to ill health, and died two months later. He nominated his son Ilham Aliyev as his successor, and he remains in office at the time of writing (2017). Baku's airport was renamed in honour of Heydar Aliyev in March 2004 – three months after his death.
© Haydn Thompson 2017