APersonIndependent states
Mammad Amin Rasulzade
A founder of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1884–1955) and chairman of the National Council that declared independence on 28 May 1918.
Mammad Amin Rasulzade was born in 1884 in the village of Novkhani near Baku. Known from youth as a publicist, he became leader of the Musavat party.
On 28 May 1918 the Azerbaijani National Council he chaired adopted the Declaration of Independence in Tiflis. His words "A flag once raised will never fall" became one of the nation's mottos.
After the Soviet occupation of 1920 he went into exile and kept the idea of Azerbaijani independence alive in Warsaw and Ankara. He died in Ankara in 1955.
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Updated: October 1, 2026