Elmira Mikayil gizi Gafarova (1 March 1934 – 1 August 1993) was an Azerbaijani

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Early life

Gafarova was born on 1 March 1934 in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. In 1952, she completed her secondary education and was admitted to

Azerbaijan State University Baku State University (BSU) (BDU; ) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established on 1 September 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and philology, physics a ...

in 1953. In 1958, she graduated from the university with a degree in

Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and continued with her

postgraduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

until 1961 when she obtained her PhD in Philology. Gafarova was the deputy of the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

committee of the university. In 1958, she was admitted to

Azerbaijan Communist Party The Azerbaijan Communist Party (; ) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was formed on 20 February 1920, when ...

. In 1962, she was appointed the chairwoman of the Organization Committee Center of Azerbaijani Komsomol and in 1966 through 1970, she served as the first secretary of the organization.

Political career

In 1970–1971, Gafarova worked as the director of the Department of Culture of the Central Committee of Azerbaijan Communist Party and from 1971 until 1980, she was the Secretary of the Party Committee of

. In 1980, she was appointed to the post of

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

which she held until 1983. In 1983–1987, Gafarova served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan SSR. While in foreign service, she participated in

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

sessions in October 1984 on issues of racism and discrimination. She was also elected to the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

of Azerbaijan. From 1987 through 1991, she was the Speaker of Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR and was elected deputy to the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the So ...

. In 1987–89, she also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan SSR. When she was the speaker of parliament, Gafarova played a significant role in restoring the historic name of

Ganja ''Ganja'' (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for cannabis flower, specifically marijuana or hashish. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi (, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒa� ...

on 30 December 1989, and made the

Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...

holiday celebrated throughout Azerbaijan an official public holiday on 13 March 1990. She is also credited with passing a law on restoration of independence of Azerbaijan on 18 October 1991 and admission of the Azerbaijan Republic to the United Nations on 2 March 1992.

Black January

Gafarova has been of the first leaders to convene the extraordinary session of the Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on January 21–22 and condemn the Soviet authorities for massacre of civilians in Baku on the night of 19–20 January 1990. The session of 160 deputies issued a statement of condemnation of the massacre and appealed to Supreme Soviet of USSR, Supreme Soviets of union republics, all parliaments of the world and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

mentioning military aggression against civilians in disregard of

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and Vienna Conventions. As a result, Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office launched a criminal investigation on paragraphs 4 and 6 of article 94 (premeditated murder in aggravating circumstances), 149 (deliberately destroying or damaging the property), 168 (abuse of power) and 225 (abuse of authority) of the Criminal Code that was effective at that time. The ongoing investigation has not yet been closed.

Awards

Gafarova has been awarded with various orders and medals of the USSR. She's been awarded with Order of the Red Banner of Labour and Order of Honor during her career. Elmira Gafarova died on 1 August 1993 in Baku, Azerbaijan. She was buried in the Alley of Honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gafarova, Elmira 1934 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Azerbaijani women politicians 20th-century Azerbaijani politicians 20th-century diplomats Politicians from Baku Azerbaijan Communist Party (1920) politicians Baku State University alumni Chairmen of the National Assembly (Azerbaijan) Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Education ministers of Azerbaijan Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Ministers of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan People's commissars and ministers of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Women government ministers of Azerbaijan Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Female foreign ministers Azerbaijani women diplomats Soviet women diplomats Soviet women in politics Burials at Alley of Honor First women presidents Women presidents in Europe

Early life

Political career

Black January

Awards

See also

References