Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Elchibey
Əbülfəz Qədirqulu oğlu Elçibəy
The pan-Turkist dissident who became Azerbaijan's first democratically elected president
On a November 1992 visit to Ankara he visited Atatürk's grave at Anıtkabir and wrote in the memorial book that he was a soldier of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Azerbaijani politician, born 24 June 1938 in Kalaki, Nakhchivan, died 22 August 2000 in Ankara. Trained in Arabic philology at Baku State University, he took a Candidate degree in history in 1969, was known from the 1970s as a Turkist and anti-communist, and was arrested in January 1975 by the State Security Committee, serving until July 1976 at the Qaradagh stone quarry. A founder and chairman of the Popular Front from 1989, he organized a National Defence Council in January 1990 in the crisis that culminated in the anti-Armenian Baku pogrom and Black January. Elected president in June 1992, he was ousted in June 1993 amid Karabakh defeats and Huseynov's revolt; Heydar Aliyev succeeded him. He returned to Baku in 1997 and led the opposition until his death.
Career timeline
- 1957–1962Entered the Arabic philology department, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Baku State University in 1957; graduation dated 1962 in the Azerbaijani account, conflicting with a 1957 graduation given in an English account
- 1963–1964Worked as a translator in Egypt
- 1968–1975Lecturer in the History of Asian and African Countries, Baku State University → arrested January 1975 by the State Security Committee, held until July 1976 at the Qaradagh stone quarry
- 1976–1992Researcher, then senior researcher and department head, Institute of Manuscripts, Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, until 16 July 1992
- 1989–1992Chairman, Azerbaijani Popular Front
- 1990.01Organized and chaired the National Defence Council in Baku on 12 January 1990
- 1992–1993President, Republic of Azerbaijan. Elected 7 June 1992, took office 17 June; formally stripped of the office by referendum on 29 August 1993
- 1997–2000Leader, Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (in opposition). Returned to Baku on 30 October 1997 and led it until his death