Alimardan Alakbar oglu Topchubashov was a prominent Azerbaijani politician, foreign minister and speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
Background
Alimardan bey Topchubashov descended from Ganja branch of famous Topchubashi family and was born in Tiflis (now Tbilisi) on May 4, 1863. He married Parliament Malikova, daughter of Hasan bey Zardabi, founder of the first Azerbaijani newspaper, Akinchi.
Education
After studying at Tiflis Gymnasium, he entered Saint St. Petersburg University and graduated from the law faculty in 1888.
Career
In 1897 oil magnate Zeynalabdin Taghiyev bought Kaspi newspaper and invited Topchibashov to be its editor-in-chief At the brink of the First Russian Revolution Topchubashov was one of the initiators of famous meeting of Azerbaijani intelligentsia and bourgeoisie at Taghiyev’s palace on March 15, 1905. As a result of this meeting a petition was addressed to Tsar asking for:
Implementation of local self-governing and new type of courts (jury) in the entire Caucasus
Distribution of land to the peasants who lack it
He headed party’s third conference and became its bureau member and chief of its Law Commission.
But after the First Duma was dissolved by Tsar Topchubashov was arrested for three months, lost his right to be ever a parliament member, deprived of his place at Baku Municipality and “Kaspi” newspaper.
After the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was proclaimed on May 28, 1918 Topchubashov became its ambassador to Armenia, Georgia and the Ottoman Empire, and was sent to Istanbul. Then he was made minister of foreign affairs at the second cabinet and was elected the head of the Parliament in absentia on December 7, 1918, thus becoming second head of state of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, after Mammed Amin Rasulzade.
Agreeing to head the Azerbaijani Delegation at Versailles Conference, he left Istanbul for Paris. But after the Bolshevik takeover of Alternative Dispute Resolution he could not return and stayed in Paris, where he died on November 8, 1934.