Azerbaijani National Council ( az, Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyəti Milli Şurası) was the first delegated legislative body of the

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 A ...

(ADR) from 27 May 1918 to 17 June 1918 and again from 16 November 1918 to 3 December 1918. It was succeeded by the ''

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

'' ( az, Parlament), a legislative body formed through nationwide general elections.

Background

After the

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 some ...

like many ethnic minorities of the shrinking

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 ...

, Azeris also began to form movements aimed at political autonomy from Russia. In the provinces and districts where Azeris constituted considerable population local Muslim National Councils (MNC) were formed. On March 27, 1917, delegates of MNCs gathered to establish the Temporary Executive Committee for the MNCs. Mammad Hasan Hajinski became head of this committee, which also included Mahammad Amin Rasulzade, Alimardan bey Topchubashev, Fatali Khan Khoyski, and other founders of the future

. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

was separated from mainland

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, hence the Transcaucasian Sejm formed in

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 pe ...

proclaimed independence of the

Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR; (), (). 22 April – 28 May 1918) was a short-lived state in the Caucasus that included most of the territory of the present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as ...

. Azerbaijanis formed the largest faction of the same numbering 44 members, and headed by Mammed Amin Rasulzade. These 44 members represented four different political parties and blocks:

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 ...

and neutral Democrats; the Muslim Socialist Bloc; Ittihad-i Muslimin (or simply Ittihad; Union of Muslims of Russia); and the

Muslim Social Democratic Party The Muslim Social Democratic Party, usually referred to as Hummet ( az, Hümmət) ("Endeavor"), was a political party in South Caucasus. In 1920, it merged with "Adalat" ( az, Ədalət) ("Justice") communist cell in Baku, forming the first Communi ...

Formation

When the 31 March–2 April massacres took place in Baku, the Temporary Executive Committee was crushed, its factual leader Alimardan bey Topchubashev was arrested, and the Azeri

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

was driven out of Baku, Tbilisi became the headquarters of the Azerbaijani National Movement. After the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic fell on 26 May 1918 and its bodies were dissolved, the Azerbaijani faction of the Sejm was renamed to Azerbaijani National Council (NC). It immediately undertook parliamentary functions and proclaimed the foundation of Azerbaijani Democratic Republic on 28 May 1918. On 16 June the Azerbaijani National Council moved to

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: �aːɲd͡ ...

and declared it Azerbaijan's temporary capital awaiting the fall of the Baku Commune. The Council met with resistance of ultra-nationalists who accused it of being too left-wing; and intolerance of Ottoman Commander Nuru Pasha. It had to be abolished the next day, leaving all power to the Council of Ministers led by Fatali Khan Khoyski.

Second Convocation

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the withdrawal of Ottoman forces from Azerbaijan, the power of the ultra-nationalists once backed by Nuru Pasha weakened. This allowed for the Azerbaijani National Council to be re-established and start negotiations with the British occupation forces. The Council was completely abolished after the opening of the ''Parlaman'' on 7 December 1918. The Parliament of ADR included the representatives of majority Azerbaijani parties as well as MPs from Armenian, Russian,

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and Polish minorities of

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 ...

and representatives of trade unions.

Members of the Azerbaijani National Council

References

{{Political activity in Azerbaijan until 1920 1918 establishments in Azerbaijan 1918 disestablishments Politics of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

Constituent assemblies Russian Revolution