Heydar Aliyev (Romanov World)

Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev (May 10, 1923 - December 12, 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1998 until his death.

Born in Azerbaijan, Aliyev joined the Communist Party in 1945. After holding a series of posts he became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan in 1969. A protégé of Leonid Brezhnev, Aliyev entered the Politburo as a candidate member in 1976, before becoming a full member in 1982. He served as Premier of the Soviet Union from 1987 until 1993, and then Chairman of the Presidium from 1993 until 1998.

In 1998 with the support of younger, reform minded Politburo members Aliyev replaced Grigory Romanov as General Secretary. Under Aliyev the economic reforms which had begun in 1991 were accelerated, however attempts at political reform or "System Change" were strongly resisted. After 2000 his health began to fail, with the Soviet Union largely being governed by Nikolai Ryzhkov and Anatoly Lukyanov.

He died in office on December 12, 2003.