Mammad Yusif Jafarov Hajibaba oghlu ( az, Məmməd Yusif Cəfərov Hacıbaba oğlu ; March 14, 1885 - May 15, 1938) was an Azerbaijani statesman.

Early life

Jafarov was born on March 14, 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 the

Baku Governorate The Baku Governorate, known before 1859 as the Shemakha Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its center in the booming metropolis and Caspian Sea port of Baku. Area (1897): 34,400 sq ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(present-day

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 ...

). He was the younger brother of a prominent professor and journalist, Ali Isgender Jafarzadeh. After completion of his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

, Jafarov studied in at

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

graduating with a

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

degree in law in 1912. While in Moscow, he was one of the organizers of regular ethnic Azerbaijani concerts and co-founders of Azerbaijani diaspora organizations.

Political career

Russian Empire

In 1912, when Fourth Duma of Russian Empire convened in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Mammad Yusif Jafarov was elected by the Muslim population 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� ...

and

Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and in ...

governorates to represent them in state parliament. In Saint Petersburg, he joined

Constitutional Democratic Party ) , newspaper = ''Rech'' , ideology = ConstitutionalismConstitutional monarchismLiberal democracyParliamentarism Political pluralismSocial liberalism , position = Centre to centre-left , international = , colours ...

(also known as ''Kadets''). While in the Duma, he repeatedly criticized

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

's government for their unjust

colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

policy in

. On March 9, immediately after Russia's

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

, the interim government established the Transcaucasian Committee of the Duma. Jafarov was one of the members of the committee that managed the industrial and economic operations. On November 15, 1917, he was appointed

Commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...

of Industry and Trade of

Transcaucasian Commissariat The Transcaucasian Commissariat was established at Tbilisi on 11 November 1917, as the first government of the independent Transcaucasia following the October Revolution in Petrograd. The Commissariat decided to strengthen the Georgian–Armenian� ...

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

When

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian Az ...

was proclaimed on May 28, 1918, Jafarov was appointed the Minister of Industry and Trade within the new Cabinet of Azerbaijan established by Prime Minister Fatali Khan Khoyski. When the first cabinet was dissolved, he left his post and later served as a diplomatic representative of Azerbaijan in the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

government. On March 14, 1919, Jafarov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan by the new government of Prime Minister

Nasib Yusifbeyli Nasib bey Yusif bey oghlu Yusifbeyli ( az, Nəsib bəy Yusif bəy oğlu Yusifbəyli) or Usubbeyov ( az, Usubbəyov ; 5 July 1881, Ganja - 31 May 1920) - Azerbaijani publicist, statesman and major political figure in Azerbaijan Democratic Republi ...

. Jafarov is credited for his extensive work in disseminating information about Azerbaijan in the international community. In October 1919, he joined the

Musavat The Müsavat Party ( az, Müsavat Partiyası, from ar, مساواة ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. Early Musa ...

party. In December of the same year, Jafarov resigned as the cabinet of Yusifbeyli dissolved. In February 1920, he was appointed Deputy Speaker of

Parliament of Azerbaijan The National Assembly ( az, Milli Məclis), also transliterated as Milli Mejlis, is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms ...

. Due to the absence of the Speaker

Alimardan Topchubashov Alimardan bey Alekber bey oghlu Topchubashov ( az, Әлимәрдан бәј Әләкбәр оғлу Топчубашов, italic=no, Əlimərdan bəy Ələkbər oğlu Topçubaşov; 4 May 1862, Tiflis – 8 November 1934, Paris) was a prominent ...

who was at the

Versailles Peace Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

and eventually achieved the ''de facto'' recognition of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in January by the Council of Allied Powers, Jafarov served as the acting speaker and head of government until April 27, 1920, when Azerbaijan was occupied by Bolshevik

11th Red Army The 11th Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which fought on the Caspian-Caucasian Front. It took a prominent part in the sovietization of the three republics of the southern Caucasus in 1920–21, when Azerbaijan, ...

and ADR ceased to exist. He signed the documents of the peaceful surrender of the Azerbaijani government to the Bolsheviks.

Soviet Azerbaijan

During the Soviet rule 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 ...

, Jafarov retired from politics and worked as a legal counselor at Azerbaijani wine-making and cotton-wool

trusts A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

. He died on May 15, 1938, in Baku.

References