Death and state funeral of Heydar Aliyev
The coffin with the body of Heydar Aliyev Palace of the Republic
Date15 December 2003 (2003-12-15)
LocationBaku, Azerbaijan
BurialAlley of Honor

Heydar Aliyev, the former President of Azerbaijan, died on 12 December 2003 in the Cleveland Clinic (United States) at 10 am local time from heart failure[1] at the age of 80. On 14 December, his coffin was taken to Baku.[2]

Funeral commission

On 13 December, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the establishment of the State Commission for the funeral of his father, Heydar.[3] The following list contains members of the commission:[4]

Ceremony

The farewell ceremony was held 15 December 2003 at the Palace of the Republic (nowadays Heydar Aliyev Palace) and was broadcast live on the main Azerbaijani TV channels. The funeral lasted seven hours and was attended by 250,000 people.[5][6] At 9.00 local time, the farewell ceremony began, with a guard of honor from the National Guard of Azerbaijan being lined up at the coffin. A prayer service was also held at the local mosque.[7] After the official ceremony, a procession of many kilometres took place. After staying in Baku for only an hour and a half, Putin and Nazarbayev left the ceremonies early via Bina International Airport.[8] Heydar Aliyev was buried in the Alley of Honor next to his wife Zarifa Aliyeva. During the funeral, an artillery salute was given.[9][10]

Dignitaries

The ceremony was attended by past and present Azerbaijani politicians and a plethora of international dignitaries, which included the following:[11]

Reactions

  • Kazakhstan President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed condolences to Ilham Aliyev, saying "The people of Azerbaijan suffered a heavy loss".[8]
  • Kyrgyzstan On 13 December, President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev sent a telegram of condolences to Ilham Aliyev.[8]
  • Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences in a phone call with President Ilham Aliyev. The Azerbaijani Embassy in Moscow opened its doors for people to sign the book of condolences.[17] Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow referred to Aliyev as "the wisest statesman has passed away, who devoted his whole life to the prosperity of the people of Azerbaijan and made a significant contribution to strengthening the once common state for our peoples." Condolences also came from former Russian Premier Yevgeny Primakov.[8]
  • United States The United States Department of State sent condolences to Ilham Aliyev.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Умер Гейдар Алиев". kp.ru. December 15, 2003.
  2. ↑ Сергей Строкань. "Траур". Газета «Коммерсантъ».
  3. ↑ Azərbaycan Respublikası Prezidentinin Fərmanları və Sərəncamları. Biblioqrafik göstərici № 1
  4. ↑ "36 - Azərbaycan Respublikasının eks-prezidenti Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyevin dəfn mərasiminin təşkili üzrə Dövlət Komissiyasının yaradılması haqqında". www.e-qanun.az. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  5. ↑ Graeme, Wilson (2011). Ilham: Portrait of a President. pp. 278–294. ISBN 978-9948-15-289-7.
  6. ↑ "A million mourn the Iron Man of Azerbaijan". www.telegraph.co.uk.
  7. ↑ Heydər Əliyev Amerikadan Azərbaycana belə gətirildi, retrieved 2021-02-19
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Владимир Путин попрощался с Гейдаром Алиевым / СНГ / Независимая газета". www.ng.ru. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  9. ↑ "Владимир Путин попрощался с Гейдаром Алиевым". Archived from the original on 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
  10. ↑ "Heydər Əliyevin vəfat etdiyi gün (Sənədli film)". Video.AZ.
  11. ↑ "В Баку состоялись похороны Гейдара Алиева". www.pravda.ru. www.pravda.ru. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  12. ↑ "RF DELEGATION TO TAKE PART AT THE FUNERAL OF THE EX-PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN HEYDAR ALIYEV". azertag.az.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Heydər Əliyevin vəfat etdiyi gün (Sənədli film)". Video.AZ (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  14. ↑ "EX-PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE TOOK PART AT THE FUNERAL CEREMONY OF PRESIDENT HEYDAR ALIYEV". azertag.az.
  15. ↑ "КАНДИДАТ В ПРЕЗИДЕНТЫ ГРУЗИИ МИХАИЛ СААКАШВИЛИ ПРИНЯЛ УЧАСТИЕ В ЦЕРЕМОНИИ ПОХОРОН ПРЕЗИДЕНТА ГЕЙДАРА АЛИЕВА". azertag.az (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  16. ↑ "ბაქოში ჰეიდარ ალიევის დაკრძალვას, 30-ზე მეტი სახელმწიფოს წარმომადგენლებს შორის, საქართველოს წარმომადგენლობითი დელეგაცია ესწრებოდა". რადიო თავისუფლება (in Georgian). Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  17. ↑ "Кончина Гейдара Алиева - На похоронах участвовало около 2 млн. человек". Day.Az. December 15, 2003.
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