First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan
De facto leader of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan was the head of the Communist Party of Tajikistan and the highest executive power in the republic of Tajikistan from 1924 until November 1990.
,_Emblem_of_Tajikistan_(1991–1992).svg)
- Popular vote
| First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan | |
|---|---|
| Котиби якуми Ҳизби коммунисти Тоҷикистон Первый секретарь Коммунистической партии Таджикистана | |
| |
| Residence | Dushanbe |
| Appointer |
|
| Inaugural holder | Chinor Imomov (as Acting Secretary) |
| Formation | 1924 |
| Final holder | Qahhor Mahkamov (as First Secretary) |
| Abolished | November 1990 |
History
Shortly after the Soviet Union was formed in 1922 a position of First Secretary of the Communist Party was created in each Soviet Republic. The Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created in 1924 as a subunit of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic and the first Acting Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan was appointed that year. In 1929 Tajikistan received full republic status separate from Uzbekistan and in 1930 the position of First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan was created. The position changed hands numerous times during the 1920s and 1930s due to Stalin's fear of keeping leaders in power for long periods of time. A number of the former leaders of the Communist Party of Tajikistan perished in the Great Purge of the 1930s.[1]
The leaders of Tajikistan were usually ethnic Tajiks with the exceptions of Mirza Davud Huseynov, Dmitri Protopopov and Grigory Broydo: the first one was an ethnic Azerbaijani while the last two were ethnic Russians who were appointed during the height of Stalin's rule. After World War II every appointed First Secretary was a Tajik from the region of Leninabad, now named Sughd. This was a reflection of the fact that the leadership of Uzbekistan highly influenced the appointment of leaders in Tajikistan and chose leaders from Leninabad because of its historic ties to Uzbekistan's urban centers in the Fergana Valley. There have even been accusations that some of the Leninabadi leaders of Tajikistan were actually Uzbek because their dialect of Tajik had a number of loan words from Uzbek.[1] The Leninabad monopoly on power was a key factor in igniting the civil unrest that followed Tajikistan's independence in 1991 and led to the Tajikistani Civil War.
The longest serving First Secretary was Dzhabar Rasulov, who came to power in 1961 and died in office in 1982. Rasulov's successor was Rahmon Nabiyev, who was ousted in a corruption scandal in 1985. The position First Secretary was downgraded in November 1991 when then First Secretary Qahhor Mahkamov was appointed to the newly created executive position of President of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. Mahkamov was the last First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan to also serve as head of state of Tajikistan when he resigned his office on August 31, 1991, following his support of the August Coup in Moscow. One of the most celebrated First Secretaries was Bobojon Ghafurov, a renowned scholar who wrote numerous works on the history of Tajikistan.
List of secretaries
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chinor Imomov | 1924–1927 | Acting Secretary | First head of the Communist Party of Tajikistan. Oversaw the early establishment of Soviet power in the region. | |
| 2 | Mumin Khodzhayev (? – ?) |
1927–1928 | Acting Secretary | Also served as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Tajik ASSR (1928–1929).[2] | |
| 3 | Ali Heydar Ibash Shervoni (? – ?) |
1928–1929 | Acting Secretary | ||
| 4 | Shirinsho Shotemur (1899–1937) |
1929–1930 | Acting Secretary | Later served as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Tajik SSR (1933–1936). Executed during the Great Purge. Posthumously awarded Hero of Tajikistan in 2006. | |
| 5 |  |
Mirza Davud Huseynov (1894–1938) |
February 1930 – 3 November 1933 | First Secretary | Ethnic Azerbaijani. Previously served as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Azerbaijan SSR (1922–1923). Executed during the Great Purge.[3] |
| 6 |  |
Grigory Broydo (1883–1956) |
3 November 1933 – 1934 | First Secretary | Ethnic Russian. Previously served as a senior official in the Communist Party of Uzbekistan. Later worked in the Comintern and as a historian.[4] |
| 7 |  |
Suren Shadunts (1898–1938) |
1934 – September 1937 | First Secretary | Ethnic Armenian. Previously served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Tajik ASSR. Executed during the Great Purge.[5] |
| 8 | Urunboi Ashurov (1903–1938) |
September 1937 – March 1938 | First Secretary | Briefly served as First Secretary during the height of the Great Purge. Also served as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Tajik SSR (1937). Executed in 1938.[6] | |
| 9 |  |
Dmitri Protopopov (1897–1986) |
April 1938 – August 1946 | First Secretary | Ethnic Russian. Longest-serving First Secretary after World War II. Oversaw the republic's industrialisation and development during the war. Later worked in the Ministry of Agriculture.[7] |
| 10 | Bobojon Ghafurov (1908–1977) |
16 August 1946 – 24 May 1956 | First Secretary | A renowned scholar and historian, author of Tajiks: An Ancient, Modern, and Contemporary History. Oversaw the post-war reconstruction and cultural development of Tajikistan.[8] | |
| 11 | Tursun Uljabayev (1916–1988) |
24 May 1956 – 12 April 1961 | First Secretary | Oversaw the republic's agricultural development. Expelled from the party in 1961 over the cotton production scandal.[9] | |
| 12 | Dzhabar Rasulov (1913–1982) |
12 April 1961 – 4 April 1982 | First Secretary | Longest-serving First Secretary (21 years). Died in office. Also served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Tajikistan (1946–1955).[10] | |
| 13 | .jpg) |
Rahmon Nabiyev (1930–1993) |
4 April 1982 – 14 December 1985 | First Secretary | Ousted in a corruption scandal in 1985. Later served as President of Tajikistan (1991–1992).[11] |
| 14 | Qahhor Mahkamov (1932–2016) |
14 December 1985 – 31 August 1991 | First Secretary | Last First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan. Also served as the first President of Tajikistan (November 1990 – August 1991). Resigned following his support of the August 1991 coup in Moscow.[12] |
