Natella Nurievna Akaba (; ; born 14 March 1945) is a historian, politician and civil society leader from

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

Early life and career in academia

Akaba was born on 14 March 1945 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1955, her family moved back to

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

. In 1962, Akaba graduated from high school no. 10 (Nestor Lakoba) in Sukhumi. From 1962 to 1967, she studied ethnography at the History faculty of the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

. In the following years, she was a literary assistant at the newspaper Soviet Abkhazia. In 1976, Akaba graduated from the

Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences The Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (), formerly Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, is a Russian research institution for the Oriental studies, study of the countries and cultures Asia ...

in Moscow. She subsequently moved to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

where in 1979 she started teaching history at the

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; , , ), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919, it is the largest university in the country. It is thus informally known as Armenia's ...

and the Yerevan Politechnic Institute. In 1981, Akaba defended her thesis entitled "The Colonial Policy of English Imperialism in Qatar" at the Institute of Oriental Studies. In 1989, Akaba became associate professor and moved back to Sukhumi, to work in the department of general history at the

Abkhazian State University The Abkhazian State University is the only university in Abkhazia. It was founded in 1979 on the basis of the Sukhumi Pedagogical Institute. Its first rector was Zurab Anchabadze. The study language is mainly Russian in the university. The uni ...

Career in politics and civil society

In 1990, Akaba became a member of the presidium of the People's Forum Aidgylara. In January 1991, she became a founding member of the Democratic Party of Abkhazia, Abkhazia's first, but short-lived, post-Soviet political party. In 1991, Akaba was elected to the Supreme Soviet of Abkhazia where she became Deputy Chairman of the committee for human rights and interethnic relations. From 1994 to 1995 Akaba was Minister for Information and Press. She remained a member of Parliament until the next election in 1996. Akaba has also headed the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights and the Association of Women of Abkhazia. In 2007, Akaba became the first Secretary of the Public Chamber of Abkhazia upon its establishment. She was re-elected to the position in 2010, on 29 October 2013 and on 2 November 2016. She stepped down in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akaba, Natella 1945 births Living people 1st convocation of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia Government ministers of Abkhazia People from Sukhumi Abkhazian women in politics 20th-century women politicians 21st-century women politicians Academic staff of Yerevan State University Academic staff of Abkhazian State University