Azerbaijani National Council was the first delegated legislative body of the
Azerbaijan Democratic RepublicThe Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
(ADR) from 27 May, 1918 to 17 June, 1918 and again from 16 November, 1918 to 3 December, 1918. It was succeeded by
the Parliament , a legistlative body formed through nationwide general elections.
After the
February RevolutionThe February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It occurred March 8–12 and its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the collapse of Imperial Russia and the end of the Romanov dynasty. The non-Communist Russian Provisional Government under...
like many ethnic minorities of the shrinking
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
,
AzerisThe Azerbaijanis are an ethnic group mainly living in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Commonly referred to as Azeris/Āzarīs or Azeri Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau...
also began to form movements aimed at political autonomy from Russia.
Azerbaijani National Council was the first delegated legislative body of the
Azerbaijan Democratic RepublicThe Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
(ADR) from 27 May, 1918 to 17 June, 1918 and again from 16 November, 1918 to 3 December, 1918. It was succeeded by
the Parliament , a legistlative body formed through nationwide general elections.
Background
After the
February RevolutionThe February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It occurred March 8–12 and its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the collapse of Imperial Russia and the end of the Romanov dynasty. The non-Communist Russian Provisional Government under...
like many ethnic minorities of the shrinking
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
,
AzerisThe Azerbaijanis are an ethnic group mainly living in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Commonly referred to as Azeris/Āzarīs or Azeri Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau...
also began to form movements aimed at political autonomy from Russia. In the provinces and districts where Azeris constituted considerable population local Muslim National Councils (MNC) were formed. On March 27, 1917 delegates of MNCs gathered to establish the Temporary Executive Committee for the MNCs.
Mammad Hasan HajinskiMammad Hasan Hajinski was an Azerbaijani architect and statesman ....
became head of this committee, which also included
Mammed Amin RasulzadeMammad Emin Resulzade was an Azerbaijani statesman, scholar, public figure and one of the founding political leaders of Azerbaijan Republic...
,
Alimardan TopchubashevAlimardan Alakbar oglu Topchubashov was a prominent Azerbaijani politician, foreign minister and speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic....
,
Fatali Khan KhoyskiFatali Khan Isgender oglu Khoyski was an attorney, a member of the Second State Duma of the Russian Empire, and, later, the first Prime Minister of the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic....
, and other founders of the future
Azerbaijan Democratic RepublicThe Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
. After the
October RevolutionTheOctober Revolution , also known as the Soviet Revolution or Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution. It began with an armed insurrection in Petrograd traditionally dated to 25 October 1917 Julian calendar...
the
South CaucasusThe South Caucasus is a geopolitical region located on the border of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Transcaucasus...
was separated from mainland
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, hence the Transcaucasian Sejm formed in
TbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form Tp'ilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
proclaimed independence of the
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative RepublicThe Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was a short-lived state composed of the modern-day countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in the South Caucasus.-...
. Azerbaijanis formed the largest faction of the same numbering 44 members, and headed by Mammed Amin Rasulzade. These 44 members represented four different political parties and blocks: Musavat and neutral Democrats; the Muslim Socialist Bloc;
Ittihad-i MusliminFor the literally means The Union, see Al IttihadThe Ittihad Party was a radical Islamist party in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1917–1920. It was formed in September 1917 in opposition to the secular Musavat Party and proposed political unity of all the Muslims of the Russian Empire...
(or simply Ittihad; Union of Muslims of Russia); and the
Muslim Social Democratic PartyThe Muslim Social Democratic Party, usually referred to as Hummet , was a political party in South Caucasus. In 1920, it merged with "Adalat" communist cell in Baku, forming the first Communist Party of Azerbaijan.- "Old" Hummet :...
.
Formation
When the
31 March–2 April massacresThe March Days or March Events refer to an inter-ethnic warfare during the Russian Civil War, which resulted in the massacre of 2000 to 12,000 Azerbaijanis and other Muslims in the city of Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate...
took place in Baku, the Temporary Executive Committee was crushed, its factual leader
Alimardan TopchubashevAlimardan Alakbar oglu Topchubashov was a prominent Azerbaijani politician, foreign minister and speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic....
was arrested, and the Azeri
intelligentsiaThe intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
was driven out of Baku, Tbilisi became the headquarters of the Azerbaijani National Movement. After the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic fell on 26 May, 1918 and its bodies were dissolved, the Azerbaijani faction of the Sejm was renamed to Azerbaijani National Council (NC). It immediately undertook parliamentary functions and proclaimed the foundation of Azerbaijani Democratic Republic on 28 May, 1918. On 16 June the Azerbaijani National Council moved to
GanjaGanja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city. It was named Elizavetpol in the Russian Empire, and Kirovabad in the USSR.-Foundation of the city and its etymology:...
and declared it Azerbaijan's temporary capital awaiting the fall of the Baku Commune. The Council met with resistance of ultra-nationalists who accused it of being too left-wing; and intolerance of
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
Commander Nuru Pasha it had to be abolished the next day, leaving all power to the Council of Ministers lead by
Fatali Khan KhoyskiFatali Khan Isgender oglu Khoyski was an attorney, a member of the Second State Duma of the Russian Empire, and, later, the first Prime Minister of the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic....
.
Second Convocation
After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
and the withdrawal of Ottoman forces from Azerbaijan, the power of the ultra-nationalists once backed by Nuru Pasha weakened. This allowed for the Azerbaijani National Council to be re-established and start negotiations with the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
occupation forces. The Council was completely abolished after the opening of the
Parlaman on 7 December, 1918. The Parliament of ADR included the representatives of majority Azerbaijani parties as well as MPs from Armenian,
RussianThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Jewish, German and Polish minorities of
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , formally the Republic of Azerbaijan , is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south...
and representatives of trade unions.
Members of the Azerbaijani National Council
- Mammed Amin Rasulzade
Mammad Emin Resulzade was an Azerbaijani statesman, scholar, public figure and one of the founding political leaders of Azerbaijan Republic...
- Alimardan Topchubashev
Alimardan Alakbar oglu Topchubashov was a prominent Azerbaijani politician, foreign minister and speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic....
- Fatali Khan Khoyski
Fatali Khan Isgender oglu Khoyski was an attorney, a member of the Second State Duma of the Russian Empire, and, later, the first Prime Minister of the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic....
- Nasib bey Usubbeyov
- Mammed Yusif Jafarov
- Hasan bey Agayev
- Khosrov Sultanov
- Mammed Hasan Hajinski
- Mir-Hidayat Seyidov
- Khalil bey Khasmammadov
- Gazi Ahmad Mahammadbeyov
- Aslan bey Gardashov
- Shafi bey Rustambeyov
- Javad Malik-Yeganov
Javad Irzabey oglu Malik-Yeganov was an Azerbaijani politician and Governor-General of Lankaran during Azerbaijan's independence in 1918–1920.-Early life:...
- Mustafa Mahmudov
- Mehdi bey Hajibababeyov
- Haji Molla Salim Akhundzadeh
- Mehdi bey Hajinski
- Khudadat bey Malik-Aslanov
Khudadat bey Aghabey oglu Malik-Aslanov was an Azerbaijani politician and university professor.-Early life:...
- Museyib Akhijanov
- Lutfali bey Behbudov
- Firudin bey Kocharli
- Ibrahim Vakilov
- Hamid bey Shahtakhtinski
- Rahim bey Vakilov
- Alasgar bey Mahmudov
- Yusif Afandizadeh
- Mirza Jalal Yusifzadeh
- Mammad Rza Vakilov
- Islam bey Gabulov
- Samad aga Agamalioglu
- Akbar Sheykhulislamov
- Ibrahim Abilov
- Jafar Akhundov
- Mir-Yagub Mir-Mehdizadeh
- Heybatgulu Mammadbeyov
- Sultan Majid Ganiyev
- Ibrahim bey Heydarov
- Ali khan Gantemir
- Aslan bey Safikurdski
- Ahmet bey Pepinov
- Baghir Rzayev
- Jamo bey Hajinski
- Maharram Maharramov