Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev was born on 10 May 1923 in the city of Nakhchivan, the Republic of Azerbaijan.
In 1939, after graduating from Nakhchivan Pedagogical College he entered Azerbaijan Industrial Institute (present Azerbaijan State Oil and Industrial University), Faculty of Architecture, but the outbreak of the World War II prevented him from completing his education.
In 1941-1944, Heydar Aliyev headed a secret division at the Archive Department of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and then served as head of the General Department of the Council of People’s Commissars of Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
In May 1944, he was sent to work at state security bodies.
After graduating from the USSR State Security Committee’s (KGB) Senior Staff Training School in Leningrad (presently St. Petersburg) in 1949-1950, Heydar Aliyev was appointed as head of the department at the State Security Committee of Azerbaijan SSR in 1950.
