This is the list of the heads of state of Azerbaijan from 1918 to the present. 25 people have been head of the Azerbaijani state since its establishment in 1918. It includes leaders of short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918–1920), of Soviet Azerbaijan (1920–1991), and of post-Soviet era.
Multiple terms in office, consecutive or otherwise, are listed and counted in the first column (administration number) and the second column counts individuals.
The youngest head of state by his accession to office was Grigory Kaminsky, at age 25, and the oldest Heydar Aliyev, at age 70.
| President | Term of office | Political party | Government | Elected | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | width=180px | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | Mammad Amin Rasulzade | 28 May 1918 | 7 December 1918 | Musavat | 1. Rasulzade I | 1918 | [1] | ||
| Chairman of Parliament | Term of office | Political party | Government | Elected | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | width=180px | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 2 | Alimardan Topchubashov | 7 December 1918 | 27 April 1920 | Ittifaq al-Muslimin | 2. Topchubashov I | 1918 | [2] | ||
| Chairman | Term of office | Political party | Government | Elected | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | width=180px | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 3 | Mirza Davud Huseynov | 28 April 1920 | 23 July 1920 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 3. Hüseynov I | — | [3] | ||
| 4 | Victor Naneyshvili | 23 July 1920 | 9 September 1920 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 4. Naneyşvili I | — | [4] | ||
| 5 | Elena Stasova | 9 September 1920 | 15 September 1920 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 5. Stasova I | — | [5] | ||
| Shortest serving leader of communist Azerbaijan | |||||||||
| 6 | Vladimir Dumbadze | 15 September 1920 | 24 November 1920 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 6. Dumbadze I | — | [6] | ||
| Secretary | Term of office | Political party | Government | Elected | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | width=180px | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 7 | Grigory Kaminsky | 24 October 1920 | 24 July 1921 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 7. Kaminski I | — | [7] | ||
| First Secretary | Term of office | Political party | Government | Ref | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | width=180px | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 8 | Sergey Kirov | 24 July 1921 | 5 January 1925 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 8. Kirov I | [8] | |||
| Enforced Soviet rule over unwilling Azerbaijani nationalists; played an important role in helping to deliver Baku’s oil to Soviet Russia. | |||||||||
| 9 | < | -- --> | Ruhulla Akhundov | 5 January 1925 | 21 January 1926 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 9. Axundov I | [9] | |
| During the Great Purge, he was arrested, accused of plotting against the Soviet state, sentenced to death and executed. | |||||||||
| 10 | Levon Mirzoyan | 21 January 1926 | 11 July 1929 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 10. Mirzoyan I | [10] | |||
| Purged Azerbaijani intelligentsia, communist leaders who had sympathized with the opposition or who might have once leaned toward Pan-Turkism. | |||||||||
| 11 | Nikolay Gikalo | 11 July 1929 | 5 August 1930 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 11. Gikalo I | [11] | |||
| During the Great Purge, he was arrested, accused of plotting against the Soviet state, sentenced to death and executed. | |||||||||
| 12 | Vladimir Polonsky | 5 August 1930 | 7 February 1933 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 12. Polonski I | [12] | |||
| During the Great Purge, he was arrested, accused of plotting against the Soviet state, sentenced to death and executed. | |||||||||
| 13 | Ruben Rubenov | 7 February 1933 | 10 December 1933 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 13. Rubenov I | [13] | |||
| During the Great Purge, he was arrested, accused of plotting against the Soviet state, sentenced to death and executed. | |||||||||
| 14 | Mir Jafar Baghirov | 10 December 1933 | 6 April 1953 | Communist | 14. Bağırov I | [14] | |||
| Followed Stalin's orders without question; Purged Azerbaijani intelligentsia, communist leaders who had sympathized with the opposition or who might have once leaned toward Pan-Turkism. | |||||||||
| 15 | Mir Teymur Yaqubov | 6 April 1953 | 17 February 1954 | Communist | 15. Yaqubov I | [15] | |||
| 16 | Imam Mustafayev | 17 February 1954 | 10 July 1959 | Communist | 16. Mustafayev I | [16] | |||
| 17 | Vali Akhundov | 10 July 1959 | 14 July 1969 | Communist | 17. Axundov I | [17] | |||
| He is credited in Azerbaijan for rebuffing the Armenian claims for Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1965. | |||||||||
| 18 | Heydar Aliyev | 14 July 1969 | 3 December 1982 | Communist | 18. H.Əliyev I | [18] | |||
| Temporarily improved economic conditions and promoted alternative industries to the declining oil industry. | |||||||||
| 19 | Kamran Baghirov | 3 December 1982 | 21 May 1988 | Communist | 19. Bağırov I | [19] | |||
| He was strongly criticized for worsening economic conditions in Azerbaijan. | |||||||||
| 20 | Abdurrahman Vazirov | 21 May 1988 | 25 January 1990 | Communist | 20. Vəzirov I | [20] | |||
| Shared internationalist values and aspirations for political reform but he could not cope effectively with the complex political situation in Azerbaijan. | |||||||||
| 21 | Ayaz Mutallibov | 25 January 1990 | 14 September 1991 | Communist | 21. Mütəllibov I | [21] | |||
| Black January. | |||||||||
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR
See main article: Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
| No. | President | Term of office | Elected | Political party | Government | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | width=180px | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| (21) | Ayaz Mutallibov | 18 May 1990 | 6 March 1992 | 1990 | Communist | 22. Mütəllibov II | |||
| 8 September 1991 | 6 March 1992 | 1991 | |||||||
| — | Yagub Mammadov (acting) | 6 March 1992 | 14 May 1992 | — | None | — | [22] | ||
| (21) | Ayaz Mutallibov | 14 May 1992 | 18 May 1992 | — | None | Mütəllibov II | |||
| — | Isa Gambar (acting) | 18 May 1992 | 17 June 1992 | — | Musavat | — | [23] | ||
| 22 | Abulfaz Elchibey | 17 June 1992 | 24 June 1993 | 1992 | Azerbaijani Popular Front Party | 23. Elçibəy I | [24] | ||
| |||||||||
| — | Heydar Aliyev | 24 June 1993 | 10 October 1993 | — | New Azerbaijan Party | 24. H.Əliyev II | [25] | ||
| (18) | 10 October 1993 | 3 October 2003 | 1993 | ||||||
| 3 October 1998 | 31 October 2003 | 1998 | |||||||
| 23 | Ilham Aliyev | 31 October 2003 | 15 October 2008 | 2003 | New Azerbaijan Party | 25. İ.Əliyev I | [26] | ||
| 15 October 2008 | 9 October 2013 | 2008 | |||||||
| 9 October 2013 | 11 April 2018 | 2013 | |||||||
| 11 April 2018 | 7 February 2024 | 2018 | |||||||
| 7 February 2024 | Incumbent | 2024 | |||||||
. Historical dictionary of Azerbaijan . Swietochowski . Tadeusz . Collins . Brian C. . Tadeusz Swietochowski. 1999 . Scarecrow Press, Inc . Lanham, Maryland. 0-8108-3550-9 . 30 .