Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev or Gaydar Aliev (Azerbaijani: Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, Russian: Гейда́р Али́евич Али́ев, Gaydar Aliyevich Aliyev; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003), also spelled Haydar Aliev or Gaydar Aliev was the third President of Azerbaijan for the New Azerbaijan Party from October 1993 to October 2003, when his son Ilham Aliyev succeeded him.From 1969 to 1982, Aliyev was also the leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, effectively dominating the political life of Azerbaijan for many years. In 1948, he married Zarifa Aliyeva. On October 12, 1955, their daughter Sevil was born. On December 24, 1961, their son Ilham was born. Zarifa died of cancer in 1985.