DEC 12 is a day celebrated by Azerbaijanis to commemorate Heydar Aliyev, the former president of Azerbaijan.
He played a significant part in Azerbaijani politics and society after he came to power in 1993 and this continued even after his death in 2003.
Aliyev took office when Azerbaijan was on the verge of civil war and faced the risk of losing its independence in the First Karabakh War with neighbouring Armenia.
He was re-elected in 1998.
Hailed as the person responsible for paving the way for stability and economic prosperity in Azerbaijan during his term as president, Aliyev was also credited for restoring stability and turning the country into an energy producer.
He used the oil potential of Azerbaijan after the collapse of the Soviet Union to attract foreign investors.
During his administration, Azerbaijani foreign policy was rebalanced and bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and other countries and cooperation with international organizations were boosted.
This culminated in the "contract of the century", which developed the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea with foreign companies.
Although Azerbaijan suffered a crisis in political, economic and military spheres connected with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Aliyev develop the oil strategy as a solution.
This strategy, a long-term national development programme aimed at drawing on the country's energy resources, had a major impact on Azerbaijan's economy.
The strategy included cooperating with big foreign companies on the principle of mutual benefit while taking into account the interests of the present and the future generations of Azerbaijanis.
Azerbaijan is one of the most ancient oil countries in the world in its 170-year history. In 1848, the oil gush in Bibiheybat, Baku, witnessed the commercial production of dark gold in Azerbaijan.
This discovery led Azerbaijan to be the first in the world in oil production and refining. It produced half of the oil in the world by 1899.
As a result, Azerbaijan produced nearly one milliard tonnes of oil in its onshore and offshore deposits until 1994.
The commercial off-shore production of oil in Azerbaijan marked the country's entry as a world oil producer.
The gains from oil and gas production made Azerbaijan a prominent oil producer in the 20th century.
Aliyev envisioned the national oil production as "the greatest wealth of Azerbaijan and it belongs not only to the present-day Azerbaijan, but also to future generations".
He said: "The oil strategy of Azerbaijan has borne fruits and is one of the factors of the free and independent development of Azerbaijan in the 21st century."
Aliyev, the founder of the "oil strategy" and initiator of the "contract of the century", has transformed Azerbaijan into what it is today.
The author is a freelance writer and former educator