APresident · 1990 – 1992Independent states
Ayaz Mutallibov
Azerbaijan's first president (1938–2022), elected by popular vote in September 1991; he resigned in March 1992.
Ayaz Mutallibov became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan in 1990 and was elected president by the Supreme Soviet that year; in October 1991 Azerbaijan restored its independence.
He resigned on 6 March 1992 after the Khojaly massacre, returned briefly in May but left office within days. He lived for many years in Moscow and died in Baku in 2022.
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Updated: October 4, 2026