Surat Huseynov | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister of Azerbaijan | |
| In office 30 June 1993 – 7 October 1994 | |
| President | Heydar Aliyev |
| Preceded by | Panah Huseynov |
| Succeeded by | Fuad Guliyev |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1959-02-12)12 February 1959 Kirovabad,Azerbaijan SSR,USSR (nowGanja, Azerbaijan) |
| Died | 31 July 2023(2023-07-31) (aged 64) Istanbul, Turkey |
Surat Davud oghlu Huseynov (Azerbaijani:Surət Davud oğlu Hüseynov; 12 February 1959 – 31 July 2023) was an Azerbaijani military officer and politician who served asPrime Minister after ousting Azerbaijan PresidentAbulfaz Elchibey in the1993 Azerbaijan military coup.
Huseynov, who had enriched himself through Soviet Azerbaijan'sblack market,[1] commanded forces on the northern front in theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War.[2] He took the rank of colonel and used his money to attract forces under his command.[2] Huseynov had no military training and had no military successes during the war.[2] Azerbaijan President Abulfaz Elchibey removed Huseynov from command, which prompted Huseynov to order his forces to withdraw from the front line and enabled Armenian forces to takeKelbejer.[2]
In June 1993, Huseynov's forces seized the weaponry left by a departing Russian airborne division inGanja.[3] He subsequently marched on Baku, demanding the resignation of Elchibey and the entire Azerbaijan government.[2] Elchibey declined to call his supporters into the streets to confront Huseynov's army, as he feared that this would embroil Azerbaijan into a conflict akin toGeorgian Civil War.[2] Elchibey opted instead to resign.[2] Heydar Aliyev was subsequently installed as president and he in turn installed Huseynov as prime minister.[4] Amid this turmoil, Azerbaijan lost enormous swaths of territory to Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and had effectively lost the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.[5][4]
Huseynov was later imprisoned.[1]
After serving in the army in 1977–1979 and later graduating from the Leninabad Technological Institute,[6] Surat Huseynov worked as a plumber, a warehouse employee and an assistant operator at the Kirovabad Textile Factory. In 1983–1984 he resided inNovopavlovsk,Russian SFSR. For the next two years he worked as a wool sorter at a storing department inShaki, Azerbaijan.
In 1986 he became senior inspector of atextile factory inYevlakh and was promoted to manager just before the war. He was considered one of key figures in Soviet Azerbaijan'sblack market[1] and was known for having funded the sovereigntistPopular Front of Azerbaijan in the late Soviet era. He was married and had two children.[7]
At the dawn of the conflict in 1990, Huseynov formed an armed group supported by the localSoviet Ground Forcesdivision. He has been reported to have originated the group in Yevlakh. In the summer of 1992, his detachment took part in the Azerbaijani offensive which led to the capture ofMardakert on 4 July 1992. Two days prior to that PresidentAbulfaz Elchibey appointed Huseynov his official representative inNagorno-Karabakh and the neighbouring regions. In winter 1992–1993, when at the time Azerbaijani Minister of DefenceRahim Gaziyev ordered troops out ofHaterk (a village near Mardakert), Huseynov relocated his detachments to Ganja and refused to disband them.[1] As a result, Mardakert fell to Armenians in February 1993.[8] Elchibey responded by removing Huseynov from the government.[7]
During this period, Huseynov received extensive support from the leadership of the 104th Guards Airborne Division of theSoviet Airborne Troops headquartered in Ganja. This was due not only to the good personal relationship between them, but also because Huseynov was pro-Russian and did not conceal his feelings.[9] At the end of May 1993 the last sub-units of the 104th Division left Azerbaijan, eventually to be relocated toUlyanovsk in Russia, but handed over all their arms and military equipment to Huseynov.
The Popular Front of Azerbaijan blamed Huseynov for treason and for intentionally ceding the villages around Mardakert to Armenians (allowing their advance intoKalbajar region) to benefit Russian geopolitical interests in the region.[1] After the remaining Soviet turned Russian troops left Ganja on 28 May 1993, PresidentAbulfaz Elchibey initiated a military operation calledTufan aimed at arresting Huseynov and disarming his detachments. Elchibey deployed 4,000 troops led by Minister of DefenceDadash Rzayev, Commander of Internal Forces Fahmin Hajiyev andAttorney General Ikhtiyar Shirinov to Ganja. On 4 June 1993, at 6 o'clock in the morning, the two groups confronted each other, however not only did the Presidential Guard fail to disarm Huseynov, but the latter quickly defeated it. The number of casualties on both sides, as well as among civilians, was 69. Attorney General Ikhtiyar Shirinov among others was taken hostage, while Dadash Rzayev and Fahmin Hajiyev fled Ganja. Surat Huseynov demanded that Ikhtiyar Shirinov signed a warrant for President Elchibey's arrest on grounds ofconspiracy,murder, andabuse of power, which was exercised immediately. Within several days Huseynov extended his control onto the neighbouring regions without meeting any opposition and started advancing toward the capital city ofBaku. Upon Huseynov's approach on 18 June, Elchibey secretly fled the capital to his native village ofKalaki inNakhchivan.Heydar Aliyev who had just returned to Baku fromNakhchivan City and was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan on 15 June, was subsequently voted to take over presidency in the country. On 27–29 June, Aliyev negotiated with Surat Huseynov, and as a result the latter agreed to stop his advance on the capital city in exchange to becoming Prime Minister of Azerbaijan with extensive authority over theMinistry of National Security of Azerbaijan,Ministry of Defence andMinistry of Internal Affairs. On 30 June, theSupreme Soviet of Azerbaijan elected Huseynov to the requested office.[7]
Surat Huseynov, now Prime Minister, reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with Heydar Aliyev signing the so-called "Contract of the Century" with the international oil consortiumAIOC, which allowed Western companies to extract Azerbaijani oil in theCaspian Sea. According to Huseynov, such infringement of Russian interests in the region would not lead to positive outcomes for Azerbaijan. Some saw that as a manifestation of Huseynov's pro-Russian agenda which went back to his active contacts with Russian military commanders in 1990–1993. On 5 October 1994,riot squads reportedly accompanied by Huseynov's units attempted acoup d'état, supported by the military, against Aliyev, which was immediately suppressed. Huseynov fled to Russia.
Negotiations with the Russian government resulted in Huseynov's extradition to Azerbaijan on 26 March 1997, where he was charged with treason and attempted coup, among other crimes. The arrest was performed simultaneously with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia, and a contract by which the Russian oil companyLUKoil was to exploit the oil field ofYalama. On 15 February 1999, Surat Huseynov was sentenced tolife in prison, the highest form of punishment in Azerbaijan.[10]
In 2004, under pressure from theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, PresidentIlham Aliyev pardoned him. Huseynov was released and later lived a secluded life in the town ofBuzovna, near Baku.[11]
On 31 July 2023, Huseynov, who was suffering from stomach and kidney problems, travelled toIstanbul, Turkey on a flight from Moscow, to seek medical treatment. He died fromgastrointestinal bleeding upon landing atIstanbul Airport at the age of 64.[12]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), November 2009| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Azerbaijan 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Azerbaijan Democratic Republic | |
|---|---|
| Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic | |
| Republic of Azerbaijan | |
* Denotes acting | |
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