Abulfaz Elchibey

Life & Legacy

Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev (24 June 1938 – 22 August 2000), commonly known as Abulfaz Elchibey, was a Pan-Turkist Azerbaijani nationalist, politician and Soviet dissident who was the first and, as of early 2026, only democratically elected President in post-Soviet Azerbaijan. He served from 17 June 1992 until his ouster in a 24 June 1993 military coup backed by Russia that led to the installation of Heydar Aliyev as president.
Abulfaz Aliyev was the leader of the Azerbaijani Popular Front, assuming the nickname Abulfaz Elchibey. Elchibey played an important role in achieving Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union. He was elected as the president of Azerbaijan in independent Azerbaijan's first free election in 1992. Once in office, Elchibey sought to dismantle the old communist system domestically, such as the planned economy and the black market. During his tenure, Elchibey had to contend with an administration staffed by former Communists and military forces that were not under his control. Elchibey's attempted reforms were halted by the 1993 coup.
Elchibey's term took place during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War against neighboring Armenia. In his foreign policy, Elchibey positioned himself as a pan-Turkist who sought to re-orient Azerbaijan towards the West and Turkey while holding hostile views towards Armenia, Russia, and Iran. Elchibey endorsed the unification of Azerbaijan with the region that is known as Iranian Azerbaijan. According to historian Audrey Altstadt, Elchibey faced several major problems during his tenure as president: "the war in Nagorno-Karabagh (with the loss of area and creation of refugees), inflation and related economic problems (including slow progress on an oil deal with foreign investors), and the remnants of Russian-Soviet control and influence of the old order. The most immediately pressing problem was unrest around Baku." Elchibey was overthrown before the end of the war, and his tenure remains the only post-Soviet period in which Azerbaijan has been democratic.