Ayaz Mutallibov

Mutallibov was born on 12 May 1938, in Baku to the family of a physician and later World War II veteran, Niyazi Ashraf oghlu Mutallibov (Azerbaijani: Niyazi Əşrəf oğlu Mütəllibov), and gynaecologist Kubra Mutallibova (died in 1988).^[4] Both of his parents were from Shamakhi.

In 1956, Ayaz Mutallibov graduated from the secondary school #189 in Baku. During his youth he was fond of jazz music. He was a member of the school volleyball team. In 1956–62, Mutallibov attended the Azerbaijan State Institute of Petroleum and Chemistry.^[4]

In 1964, he became the director of the Baku Refrigerator Factory,^{[citation needed]} and in 1974, he was appointed the General Director of the "BakElectroBytMash" State Industrial Company.^[4]

In 1977, he was appointed Second Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party Committee in the Narimanov District of Baku. In 1979, he was promoted to the republic's Council of Ministers, assuming the post of Minister of Local Industry of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1982, he became Chairman of the State Planning Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR. In January 1989, he was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR.

On 24 January 1990, four days after Soviet troops entered Baku, marking the beginning of the Black January crackdown, Mutallibov, at this point in Moscow, is appointed the First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party.

On 18 May 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR elected Mutallibov as the first President of Azerbaijan SSR. In December 1990, at Mutallibov's initiative, the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR officially renamed the country to the Azerbaijan Republic and adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty.

On 17 March 1991, under pressure from Mutallibov, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan voted for the participation of Azerbaijan in the referendum on the fate of the Soviet Union. On 19 August 1991, according to some reports, while on a visit to Tehran, Mutalibov made a statement in support of the Soviet coup attempt of 1991.^[5] However, in 2016, the ex-president of Azerbaijan said that he did not support the putschists.^[6]

In September 1991, amid the collapse of the Soviet Union and independence of Azerbaijan, Mutallibov dissolved the Communist Party of Azerbaijan^[7] declared himself President of Azerbaijan in an uncontested election.^[3] Mutallibov negotiated with the opposition, in particularly the Popular Front party, during his presidency.^[3] After pressure from the Popular Front, Mutallibov established a parliament where power was divided between opposition figures and the communist old guard.^[3]

Mutallibov was in exile in Moscow from May 1992 until July 2012.^[9] In April 2000, his followers in Baku declared the formation of the new Civil Union Party. In 2003 he joined the Azerbaijan Social Democratic Party (ASDP) and became its co-chairman in exile.^[10] His son Azad died of cancer on 9 August 2011, leaving only Zaur.^[11] in July 2012, Mutallibov returned from exile with the permission of President Ilham Aliyev to attend his son's funeral.^[9] It was his first visit to the country after 1992.

Mutallibov was married to Adila Mutallibova, who died in 2019.^[15] Mutalibov met his wife in 1956 at the birthday party of a mutual friend.^[16] They had two sons, Azad and Zaur, grandson Tahir and granddaughter Madina. In an interview with Express Gazeta, Mutalibov spoke about his youthful hobbies, saying he loved to listen to jazz, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles, for which he was often criticized by a Komsomol newspaper.^[16] In his youth he was also actively involved in sports and was fond of volleyball.^[16]

• 2 Orders of the Red Banner of Labor^[17]

• President of Azerbaijan
• Politics of Azerbaijan
• National Assembly of Azerbaijan
• Foreign relations of Azerbaijan
• List of political parties in Azerbaijan