Elmira Mikayil qizi Gafarova ( az, Elmira Mikayıl qızı Qafarova / Елмира Микајыл гызы Гафарова) (born March 1, 1934 – August 1, 1993), also spelled as Elmira Qafarova ( az, Elmira Qafarova / Елмира Гафарова) was an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Early life

Gafarova was born on March 1, 1934 in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

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

Azerbaijan State University Baku State University (BSU) ( az, Bakı Dövlət Universiteti (BDU)) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and ...

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

Philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

and continued with her post graduate studies until 1961 when she obtained her PhD in Philology. While at university, Gafarova was the deputy of the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

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

Azerbaijan Communist Party The Azerbaijan Communist Party ( az, Azərbaycan Kommunist Partiyası; russian: Коммунистическая партия Азербайджана) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the ...

. 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 Department of Culture of Central Committee of Azerbaijan Communist Party and in 1971 until 1980, she was the First Secretary of the Party Committee of

. In 1980 she was appointed to the post of Minister of Education of

Azerbaijan SSR Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

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; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

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

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

of Azerbaijan. From 1987 through 1991, she was the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

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 ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

. 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 marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: �aːɲd� ...

on December 30, 1989 and made the

Nowruz Nowruz ( fa, نوروز, ; ), zh, 诺鲁孜节, ug, نەۋروز, ka, ნოვრუზ, ku, Newroz, he, נורוז, kk, Наурыз, ky, Нооруз, mn, Наурыз, ur, نوروز, tg, Наврӯз, tr, Nevruz, tk, Nowruz, ...

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

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 January 19–20, 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 an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

mentioning military aggression against civilians in disregard of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

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 USSR. She's been awarded with

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

and Order of Honor during her career. Elmira Gafarova died on August 1, 1993 in Baku, Azerbaijan. She was buried in the

Alley of Honor The Alley of Honor ( az, Fəxri Xiyaban, Honorary ''Allée'') is a public cemetery and memorial in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Alley includes burials of famed Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijan-affiliated expatriates, including several Presidents, scientists a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gafarova, Elmira 1934 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Azerbaijani women 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

Early life

Political career

Black January

Awards

See also

References