Topchubashov Alimardan bey Alakbar 

(1865 -1934)

Tenure of Office

 (06.10.1918 - 07.12.1918)

Having exceptional services in the history of our nation's diplomacy, prominent state figure of Azerbaijan, Alimardan bay Alakbar oghlu Topchubashov was born on May 4, 1862, in Tbilisi.

He received his first education in the 1^st Tbilisi Gymnasium. Having successfully completed the gymnasium in 1884, he entered the Faculty of History and Philology of the Petersburg University. But after the first semester he changed his faculty for law. In 1888, he successfully graduated from the University, and received the degree of Ph.D. in Law.

Arriving in Baku in 1896, A.Topchubashov started to engage in legal advocacy and hence networked with the prominent intellectuals of his time. He got married to Pari khanym, the daughter of Hasan bay Zardabi who was the founder of the Azerbaijani national press.

After obtaining the editorial office of the “Kaspi” newspaper and its printing house in 1895, H.Z.Taghiyev encharged Topchubashov with the editorship of the newspaper. A.Topchubashov was one of the founders and editors of the “Kaspi” newspaper from 1898 until the end of 1917. Over these years, hundreds of his articles were published in it.

From the beginning of his journalistic activity, A.Topchubashov entered the political and social life of Baku and was at the forefront of this struggle until the end of his life and became one of its leaders.

He spoke extensively at the 1^st Congress of All-Russian Muslims in 1905, and subsequently it was decided to set up All-Russian Muslim Union based on his 23-point charter and 79-point draft laws.

He was elected to the I State Duma from the provinces of Baku and Elisabethpol opened in April 27, 1906. He succeeded in establishing a Muslim faction in the Duma and was elected the chairman of the faction. He was sentenced to three months' imprisonment and deprived of his right to be elected as a member of parliament for his objection to Tsar Nicholas II's decision to dismiss the Duma.

A.Topchubashov had prominent role in the recognition of Azerbaijan throughout the world. A.Topchubashov was the minister without portfolio in the second cabinet organized by F.Khoyski in June 1918, and in October was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. In order to establish diplomatic relations with European countries, A.Topchubashov was posted to Istanbul as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Minister. To this end, he held numerous meetings and even set up an Azerbaijani press office in Istanbul.

On December 7, 1918, when the Azerbaijani Parliament started its work with political turmoil in the country, A.Topchubashov, despite being in Istanbul, was unanimously elected the chairman of the first Parliament of Azerbaijan.

A.Topchubashov was sent directly from Istanbul to the Paris Peace Conference as head of the Azerbaijani delegation. On May 28, 1919, US President W. Wilson received the Azerbaijani delegation, headed by A.Topchubashov. A.Topchubashov provided the President of the United States with detailed information on Azerbaijan's political and economic situation, including the Caucasus, and handed a 3-point memorandum to be presented to the Paris Peace Conference. Under the leadership of A.Topchubashov, the delegation made exceptional efforts to promote Azerbaijan during the Conference. As a result, on January 15, 1920, the Azerbaijani delegation was invited to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and been informed that on January 11, the members of the Supreme Council and Allied Powers had de facto recognized Azerbaijan, and the official document of the Paris Peace Conference was given to A.Topchubashov.

On November 1, 1920, A.Topchubashov applied for membership of Azerbaijan to the League of Nations. A.Topchubashov participated in a number of international conferences with the mandate of the Azerbaijani Government despite the protests of the Soviet delegations, and disseminated information about the occupation of Azerbaijan by Bolshevik Russia and the crimes committed by the Bolsheviks in Azerbaijan.

A.Topchubashov died on November 5, 1934 in Saint-Denis, Paris, and was buried in Saint Claude cemetery.