Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev, also known as Gaydar Aliev, was the third President of Azerbaijan who served from October 1993 to October 2003. As the president of his country he was indeed a very powerful politician, but his influence on Azerbaijani politics had begun years ago. As a young man he had joined the Azerbaijan SSR People's Commissariat for State Security (NKGB) and quickly rose to the rank of Major-General. Within a few years of his entry into the political world he proved himself to be a very intelligent, hardworking and shrewd politician, eventually becoming the chairman of the agency. His political career went from strength to strength and his selection as the first secretary of the Communist party of Soviet Azerbaijan proved to be the catalyst that ultimately culminated in his becoming the undisputed leader of Azerbaijan. Even though initially he implemented reforms to curb corruption and gained the trust of his citizens, over a period of time he became notorious for his repressive and autocratic rule. He came to power at a time when Azerbaijan was in the throes of political and economic crises, and initially he was able to bring about some economic development. However, the rising rate of corruption and violence made him lose favor with the Azerbaijanis.