Aziz Aliyev

Aziz Aliyev
Əziz Əliyev
Aliyev in 1935
People's Commissar for Health of theAzerbaijan SSR
In office 1939–1941
First Secretary of the Dagestan Regional Committee of theCommunist Party
In office 1942–1948
Personal details
Born	20 December 1896 Hamamli,Alexandropol Uyezd,Erivan Governorate,Russian Empire
Died	27 July 1962(1962-07-27)(aged 65) Baku,Azerbaijan SSR,Soviet Union
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Spouse	Leyla Abbasova
Children	Tamerlan Aliyev Zarifa Aliyeva Gulara Aliyeva Jamil Aliyev
Occupation	Politician

Aziz Mammad Karim oghlu Aliyev(Azerbaijani:Əziz Məmməd Kərim oğlu Əliyev;20 December 1896 – 27 July 1962) was anAzerbaijani,Dagestani,andSovietpolitician, scientist, and member of theSupreme Soviet of the USSR.He was the father-in-law of Azerbaijan's PresidentHeydar Aliyev,who married his daughterZarifa Aliyeva,and maternal grandfather of Azerbaijan's current PresidentIlham Aliyevand brother ofShamama Alasgarova,who was a doctor.

Early life

Aziz Aliyev was born into anAzerbaijaniworking-class family in Hamamli (present-day Ashtarak), Armenia. While still an infant, he moved with his family toErivan,where he soon started attending a Russian-Muslim primary school and later the Erivangymnasium(secondary school in the Russian Imperial education system). Due to his high academic standing, he was exempt from paying for education, fortunately for his family who were in financial need. After graduating with honours, Aliyev was sponsored by philanthropistZeynalabdin Taghiyevto enter theRussian Medical Military AcademyinSaint Petersburgin 1917.Because of theOctober Revolutionand civil unrest in theSouth Caucasusmarked by political instability and ethnic cleansings, Aliyev had to return to Armenia in 1918 and fled with his family first toShahtakhti(a town inNakhchivan) and then to northernIran.In the early 1920s he worked in aid posts in Erivan, Nakhchivan and on the southern bank of theAras River.In 1923 he came to Baku to work in the administrative department of the Azerbaijan Council of Ministers and finish his undergraduate degree in medical studies. In 1937 he earned a Ph.D. degree inmedicine.

Medical career

In 1928 Aziz Aliyev worked as head of the medical department of the Azerbaijan People's Commissariat (Ministry) of Health Care. In 1929 he was promoted to Deputy Minister of Health Care and director of the Azerbaijan State Clinical Institute. In 1934 he became head of the Baku Department of Health Care. In 1935 he was appointed head of theAzerbaijan Medical University.During these years he published a number of articles and textbooks, and was editor of theAzerbaijani Medical Journal.From January to May 1937 Aliyev was also rector of theAzerbaijan State University.

Political career

In 1938 Aziz Aliyev was elected secretary of theAzerbaijan SSRSupreme Soviet.In 1939–1941 he served as Azerbaijan Minister of Health Care. In 1941, after theSoviet invasionofIranian AzerbaijanandIranian Kurdistan,Aliyev was deployed toTabrizon a political mission. The goal of his council (later known as the "Aziz Aliyev Group" ) was to establish ties with localCommunistsand to propagate Communism on political, social and cultural levels.

Dagestan

On 16 September 1942Joseph Stalinappointed Aliyev Secretary of the Dagestan Regional Committee of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union,the highest authority in theDagestan ASSR.During the six years that he served in this position, Aliyev managed to put an end to hostility expressed by the locals towards the central government. At the peak of theGreat Patriotic War,desertion driven by mutual distrust between the Soviet authorities and thepeoples of the Caucasus,was a huge issue (in 1944 it would lead to the deportation of over 600,000 residents of theNorth CaucasusintoCentral Asiathat did not affect Dagestanis). In November 1942 Aliyev held a meeting withaulleaders aiming to reconcile them with the Communist government. He openly supported the heritage ofImam Shamil,the 19th centuryMuslimleader of an anti-Russian resistance, that is well-celebrated by Dagestanis but had been frowned upon and dismissed by theKremlinat the time due to its religious and nationalist nature.

Aziz Aliyev's party leadership in Dagestan was marked by significant improvements in the medical, educational and cultural spheres. The Dagestan branch of theAcademy of Sciences of the USSR,the Dagestan State Pedagogical University (founded as the Dagestani Women Teachers Institute), a number of theatres and professional medical schools of this autonomous republic were founded during Aliyev's term. He was twice awarded theOrder of Lenin,the highest national order of the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan

Aziz Aliyev's successful career was a matter of speculation among government officials in Azerbaijan, particularlyMir Jafar Baghirov,the communist leader of Azerbaijan SSR in the Stalinist era. Concerned by rumours of being replaced by Aliyev, Baghirov managed to have him fired from the executive power of Dagestan and sent toMoscowto work as an inspector in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.In 1950 Aliyev was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan SSR Supreme Soviet. In 1951 he was fired from the government and became director of the Institute of Orthopædy. In 1952 he was further demoted to physician at a hospital in a Baku suburb. The official reason behind this repression was the accusation that Aliyev never reported his parents' social origin; aggravated by the fact that his sister lived in Iran. After Stalin's death and Baghirov's arrest in 1953, Aliyev was reestablished as director of the Institute of Orthopædy and secretary of the Supreme Soviet, where he worked until his death in 1962.

Family

In 1920 Aziz Aliyev married Leyla Abbasova, an Erivan-native. Three of their children: Tamerlan,Zarifaand Jamil, pursued careers in medicine. His other daughterGulara Aliyevabecame a composer and concertmaster. In 1948 his daughter Zarifa marriedHeydar Aliyev,future First Secretary of theAzerbaijan Communist Partyand President of Azerbaijan in 1993–2003, and in 1955 bore their daughter Sevil Aliyeva and in 1961 bore their sonIlham Aliyev,who succeeded his father as President of Azerbaijan in 2003.

Honours and awards

• TwoOrders of Lenin
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour
• Order of the Patriotic War,1st class
• Honoured Doctor of theAzerbaijan SSR