Abulfaz Elchibey; Deposed Azerbaijani Leader

Abulfaz Elchibey, 62, first president of Azerbaijan after the breakup of the Soviet Union. His tenure lasted a year. Elchibey, a nationalist academic, campaigned against Soviet rule of the oil-rich Caucasian republic, and had spent 18 months in prison for anti-Soviet activities. He officially became president of independent Azerbaijan in 1992. He was overthrown in 1993 in a military coup that led to present President Geidar Aliev’s coming to power. During Elchibey’s presidency, Azerbaijan was defeated in a war with Armenia over the disputed, mainly Armenian enclave of Nargorno-Karabakh. After his ouster, Elchibey returned to his home province of Nakhichevan and became chairman of the main opposition group, the Azerbaijani Popular Front. On Tuesday in Ankara, Turkey, of prostate cancer.