Znaur Nikolayevich Gassiyev ( os, Гасситы Никъалайы фырт Знауыр / Gaššite Nikhalaye fert Znawer, ka, ზნაურ გასიევი, russian: Знаур Николаевич Гассиев; 17 March 1925 – 6 March 2016) was a

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...

n politician, who was one of the leaders of the South Ossetian independence movement in the early 1990s, which culminated in the

1991–1992 South Ossetia War The 1991–1992 South Ossetia War (also known as the First South Ossetia War) was fought between Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militia on one side and the forces of South Ossetia and North Ossetian volunteers who wanted South ...

Early life

Gassiyev was born in Tskhinvali in 1925, but soon moved with his parents to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. In 1935 the family went back to Tskhinvali, where Znaur Gassiyev finished secondary school in 1942. He enrolled in the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of the South Ossetian State Pedagogical Institute, but was drafted into the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

to fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

during the period 1942 to 1944. Upon completion of his studies in 1947, he started working as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, teaching mathematics and physics in various schools in Tskhinvali. Min. of Press and Mass Communications
Biography of Znaur Nikolaevich Gassiyev - Chairman of the 4th convocation of the Parliament of South Ossetia
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Early political career

In 1951, Gassiyev moved to

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, where he worked as a teacher for four years, and at the same time studied at the Mining Department of the Polytechnic Institute, where he graduated with honours in 1955. He then started working at the Mining Department of Kvaisa, where he held several ranks.

Political career

Gassiyev subsequently moved into politics, first working as the head of the industrial and transport committee of Dzau district. In the early 1960s, he was appointed the chairman of the Tskhinvali branch of the Georgian Communist Party, as well as the head of the administration of Tskhinvali city. In 1963, he went to the

Higher Party School Education in the Soviet Union was guaranteed as a constitutional right to all people provided through state schools and universities. The education system that emerged after the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922 became internationally ren ...

, from which he graduated with honours in 1965. Then, until 1972, he worked as deputy chairman of the South Ossetian executive committee. In 1991, when armed aggression was starting, he was elected first secretary of the South Ossetian Communist Party, and also headed the Supreme Council when South Ossetia declared its independence. As chairman of parliament, Gassiyev was Head of State of South Ossetia. In early 1992, Gassiyev handed over power to Torez Kulumbegov, a former chairman of the Supreme Council, who had been imprisoned in Tbilisi by Georgian police until then. Since 1992, Gassiyev remained active in politics, being re-elected as an MP in the 1994 election. Gassiyev was once again elected in the 2004 election, where he ran as a member of President

Eduard Kokoity Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoyty ( os, Кокойты Джабейы фырт Эдуард, Kokojty Ĝabejy fyrt Edward; born 31 October 1964) is an Ossetian politician who served as President of the partially recognized state of South Ossetia. His t ...

's Unity Party. Following the Unity Party's electoral victory, Gassiyev was once again elected chairman of Parliament.

Later career

After the

2008 South Ossetia war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

, Gassiyev was appointed head of the government's commission to deal with the resulting emergencies. Gassiyev, then 84 years old, did not run in the 2009 election, and was replaced as speaker by Stanislav Kochiev. On 27 October 2010, Gassiyev was appointed State Advisor to President Eduard Kokoity. His death was announced on 6 March 2016.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gassiyev, Znaur 1925 births 2016 deaths Ossetian people Soviet military personnel of World War II People from Tskhinvali South Ossetian independence activists