Members of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

Members of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic or Legislative Base of the Azerbaijan Republic were the members of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which was established as a continuation of the Azerbaijani National Council on December 7, 1918, as the legislative body of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

Although the results of the elections to the Transcaucasian Sejm, held in 1917, were recognized, the parliament was dissolved by the Bolsheviks on the first day. After the October Revolution, the federative state of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia united under the name of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. The members of the Transcaucasian Sejm, the legislative body of this republic, were ensured by an increase in the number of Muslim members elected to the Transcaucasian Sejm, which was achieved by increasing the number of Azerbaijani members four times. After the Social Democratic Party of Georgia, the Musavat and the democratic allies formed the Muslim faction of the Transcaucasian Sejm, led by the Musavat and the democratic allies, which had the second largest number of national deputies after the Social Democratic Party of Georgia. On May 27, 1918, this faction formed the basis of the Azerbaijani National Council. On May 28, 1918, Azerbaijan declared its independence. After that, taking into account the impossibility of holding local elections and the creation of the National Council's Parliament, which decided to call the Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which decided to call the Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the National Council adopted the "Law on Elections to the Azerbaijani Parliament" on November 19, 1918. According to this law, the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which was to consist of 120 members, was to be expanded and new members were to be elected on the principle of expansion of the number of members. The Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic held its first session on December 7, 1918. During the activity of the parliament, its internal regulations were adopted. Based on these regulations, members were accepted and expelled. Transfers of members between factions within the parliament were frequent.

The extraordinary session of the parliament, which took place due to the ultimatum sent by the Bolshevik government to take over, was the last session of the parliament. Thus, on April 27, 1918, the activities of the parliament were terminated.

Transcaucasian Sejm
The Transcaucasian Sejm, established in Tiflis in February 1918 by deputies elected from Transcaucasia, as a governing body. Its last session was held on May 26, 1918. The Sejm consisted of four Muslim parties represented by 44 deputies: the Musavat and the democratic allies, the Muslim Socialist Bloc, the "Unity" party in Russia, and the Muslim Social-Democratic (Menshevik) Party "Hummat". These 44 deputies from the four Muslim parties were represented in the Muslim faction of the Transcaucasian Sejm. On May 26, 1918, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic declared its independence from the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The next day, on May 27, a special session was called by the former Muslim faction of the Transcaucasian Sejm. The purpose of the session was to discuss the current political situation, and all members of the former Muslim faction of the Transcaucasian Sejm agreed to declare Azerbaijan's independence, establish an independent state, take control of Azerbaijan's administration, and create a Temporary National Council.

National Council
On May 28, the first session of the Azerbaijan National Council was held at the former residence of the Caucasian viceroy in Tiflis. Although some sources indicate that there were 44 members in the National Council, other sources confirm that Musa bey Rafiyev and Nariman bey Narimanbeyli were also members.

On May 28, the Azerbaijan National Council held its first session at the former Caucasian viceroy's palace in Tiflis. The National Council adopted a historic decision on declaring an independent state of the South-East Caucasus, accepted the Declaration of Independence, and held a vote. Twenty-four members voted in favor of independence, while two members (Sultan Majid Ganizade and Jafar Akhundov) remained neutral. The six-point declaration was signed by Hasan bey Agayev, Fatali Khan Khoyski, Nasib bey Yusifbeyli, Jamo bey Hajinski, Shafi bey Rustambeyli, Nariman bey Narimanbeyli, Javad bey Malik-Yeganov, and Mustafa Mahmudov.

The Temporary National Council elected Mohammad Amin Rasulzadeh as its chairman and Hasan bey Agayev as his deputy. Fatali Khan Khoyski was elected as the head of the executive committee.

After the adoption of the historic decision to declare Azerbaijan an independent state at the first session of the National Council on May 28, 1918, the session resumed after a one-hour break. Fatali Khan Khoyski, who was tasked with forming the first Azerbaijani government, announced the composition of the temporary government. However, the move of the Azerbaijani National Council and the Government to Ganja on June 16, 1918, caused political turmoil. In these complex political conditions, it was decided to dissolve the Azerbaijani National Council to protect and preserve Azerbaijan's state independence, and all legislative and executive powers were transferred to the Temporary government led by Fatali Khan Khoyski, with no one else being allowed to intervene except in the Temporary National Council, which was to be convened within six months. The government of Fatali Khan Khoyski started preparations for the convening of the Constituent Assembly. For this purpose, a special commission was created. Despite the fact that only six months had passed since the decision of the National Council, which gave the government the authority to continue its rule alone, based on the initiative and appeal of Fatali Khan Khoyski, the Azerbaijani National Council resumed its activities on November 16, 1918. At the suggestion of Fatali Khan Khoyski, the Azerbaijani National Council took over the task of convening the Constituent Assembly.

On November 19, 1918, at the meeting of the National Council chaired by Mohammad Amin Rasulzadeh, the National Council adopted a law on the convocation of the Constituent Assembly of the expanded Azerbaijani Parliament, and suspended its activities.

The National Council and the first government continued their activities in Baku from June 16 to November 16, 1918, until the opening of the first Parliament.

Changes in Membership

 * On May 29, 1918, during the 2nd session of the Shura, Teymur bey Makinsky's membership is unanimously accepted.
 * On June 1, 1918, during the 3rd session held in Tiflis, the Hummat proposed the membership of Gasim bay Jamalbayov in place of Jafar Akhundov, and the proposal was accepted.
 * On December 1, 1918, in a secret session, with the statement of Fatali Khan Khoyski and the abstention of Mahammad Amin Rasulzade, the request of the Slavic-Rus Society to elect members of parliament from the areas allocated to Russians (the Russian National Council had refused these areas) was accepted.
 * At the last session of the Shura on December 4, 1918, 2 candidates from the Shamakhi district (Yusif Ahmadzade and Habib bay Mahmudbayov) were nominated by local committees, and 3 candidates (Aliheydar Garayev, Asaf bay Shikhalibayov and Agha bay Safaraliyev) were nominated by elders' councils. Yusif Əhmədzadə was automatically disqualified from the candidacy as he had already become a member of the Trade and Industry Union, leaving the selection to be made from the remaining 4 candidates. In a secret vote, Asaf bay Shikhalibayov received 11 votes, Aliheydar Garayev received 9, and Habib bay Mahmudbayov received 1 vote. Asif bay Shikhalibayov was thus elected as a member of the Shura.

Opening
At the session of the Azerbaijan National Council held on November 19, 1918, under the chairmanship of Mahammad Amin Rasulzade, laws related to the parliament were adopted, and a decision was made that all nations living within the state's borders should be represented. According to the information provided in the Caucasian calendar, there were 2,750,000 people in these territories. Of these, 1,900,000 were Muslim, 500,000 were Armenian, and 230,000 were Russian. Muslims were to be represented by 1 delegate for every 24,000 people, Armenians by 1 for every 72,000, and Russians by 1 for every 23,000.

Thus, it was decided to form the Azerbaijan Parliament consisting of 120 members. According to the law, out of the 21 Armenian delegates to be elected to the Parliament, 8 were to be from Ganja, 8 from Shusha, and 5 from Baku Armenian committees. From the Russian population in Baku, 10 were to be sent by the Russian National Council, 1 by the German National Council, 1 by the Jewish National Council, 1 by the Georgian National Council, and 1 from the Polish committee. In addition, the law provided for the sending of 3 delegates by the Baku Trades Unions Council and 2 by the Baku Industrial and Commercial Council. Members of the Parliament had immunity from prosecution.

According to the decision of the session of the Azerbaijan National Council held on November 19, 1918, 44 Turk-Muslim delegates, elected to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly in late 1917, were to be included in the composition of the newly created parliament. The remaining 36 deputies from the Muslims and representatives of other nationalities were to be re-elected. The formation of the new Parliament was to be completed by December 3, 1918.

In connection with the convocation of the Azerbaijan Republic Parliament, on behalf of the Azerbaijan National Council, a "Statement to All Azerbaijani People!" was published in Azerbaijani and Russian on November 29, 1918, signed by its president, Mahammad Amin Rasulzade.

On December 7, 1918, at 13:00, the solemn opening of the Azerbaijan Parliament took place in the building of the former Girls' School on Nikolayev Street (now the building of the Institute of Manuscripts of Azerbaijan).

Internal Rules
On January 16, 1919, during the eighth session of the parliament, the Musavat and its leader, Mahammad Amin Rasulzade, presented a draft law to the parliament titled "Draft Law on Members of Parliament not Present in the Parliament":
 * 1) MPs who have not attended the parliament and have not given a reason for their absence within a month and a half from the opening of the parliament shall be expelled from the parliament.
 * 2) MPs who leave the parliament without informing the presidium within a month and a half shall be considered to have left the parliament.
 * 3) In such cases, a new member shall be elected by the idea or organization that elected the member.

The draft law was unanimously adopted. During the same session, the Musavat also presented the "Non-Public" draft law to the parliament. According to this law, members of the Parliament could not hold government office at any time. Stanislav Vansovich objected to this law and proposed that it be referred to the commission

. Mikhail Vinogradov and Aslan bey Gardashov also approved this proposal. The law was submitted to the commission with the condition that it be returned to the parliament within 10 days for further consideration.

On January 25, 1919, during the ninth session of the parliament, the "Non-Public" law, which had been examined by the commission, was discussed:
 * Members of the Parliament cannot hold government office. However, ministers who are members of the Parliament have the right to hold office. If another official becomes a member, it is up to them to accept or reject membership. However, if they accept membership, they must resign from their office.
 * Note 1: School teachers, professors, and specialists who do not perform administrative duties and are in a special position in state institutions are exceptions to the above decision;
 * Note 2: This exception applies only when the Parliament is in session and applies to individuals in office.
 * Members of the Parliament receive their salaries only from the Ministry of Ministers for the duration of their membership.
 * This law is in force from the date of publication.
 * From the date of publication of this law, members of the state service who are in Baku must resign from their position and apply to the Parliament within 3 days, and those outside Baku must do so within 10 days. If they do not do so, they will be considered to have accepted the office and resigned from the membership.

Although the draft law sparked debates, it was unanimously adopted after a defense by Mahammad Amin Rasulzade. After the adoption of the law, it was announced at the 4th February 1919 session of the parliament that the seminar director Firudin bey Kocharli and the deputy justice minister Teymur bey Makinsky had resigned from their membership. It was also announced that Colonel Vladimir Ollongren from the Slavic-Rus Society, Abdulla Gabulzade, Bahram bey Vazirov, Bayram Niyazi Kichikkhanli, Ali bay Zizikski, Haji Huseyn Afandizade, and Rashid bey Akhundzadeh had resigned from government service and accepted membership of the parliament. Governor of Ganja Ibrahim agha Vakilov, Governor of Baku Museyib bey Akhijanov, Jamil bay Lambaranski, Aliagha Hasanov, Sadykh bey Aghabeyov, Mammad Yusif Jafarov, and Hamid bey Shahtakhtinski were expelled from the parliament according to the "non-public" law. Ahmed bey Pepinov and Jamo bey Hajinski suggested that Mammad Yusif Jafarov and Ibrahim agha Vakilov should not be expelled due to their permissions, and the rest should be expelled. The proposal was accepted.

Resignations continued thereafter. At the 5th February 1919 session of the parliament, Governor of Ganja Ibrahim agha Vakilov announced his resignation from membership. At the 28th January 1919 session of the parliament, it was announced that Sultan Majid Ganizade had resigned from the Ministry of Education and accepted membership. At the 3rd April 1919 session of the parliament, it was announced that Yusifəli Əliyev had left government service.

Khosrov bey Sultanov was appointed as the Qarabag governor on January 15.

Committees
There were 11 committees active in the parliament. In addition to several permanent committees, temporary committees were also sometimes active. For example, there was a temporary "General Amnesty" committee formed to prepare for the amnesty decision related to the opening of the parliament, a special committee created for the investigation of Ali Bayramov's murder, and a special committee for selecting students to be sent abroad. The names of some committees varied. For example, the "Organization and Supplies" committee was later renamed the "Supplies" committee, and the legislative committee was sometimes called the draft or legislative-committee. After the adoption of the internal regulations of the parliament, the activities of the committees began to be regulated. According to the regulations, if a committee does not hold any sessions within a month, it will be dissolved, and its members will be dismissed. For example, the equipment and supplies committee, later renamed the supplies committee, and the land committee were dissolved on April 14 and April 24, respectively, according to the regulations. During the adoption of the regulations, the creation of a new budget committee was considered, but after discussions, it was merged with the finance committee under the name of the finance-budget committee due to its similar functions. In October 1919, a Central Election Commission consisting of 21 members was formed. After its establishment, at the 13th October 1919 session of the parliament, the draft committee for the elections of the Constituent Assembly officially completed its work. On January 5, 1920, at the 114th session of the parliament, a new "Inspection" committee was formed. At the 15th April 1920 session of the parliament, a special committee was created to oversee the investigation of Ali Bayramov's murder.

List
The members of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic are listed below. As some information about certain members is incomplete, the list is not exhaustive. The section on their positions provides information on their membership in various commissions at different times. The date of election indicated is the date when the members entered the parliament and were presented to the credentials committee. Sometimes, another date is given within parentheses after this date, which is the date of confirmation of the members by an internal parliamentary vote after approval by the credentials committee. Additionally, during the eighty-seventh session of the parliament on October 23, 1919, a statement was announced regarding several parliament members resigning from the Neutral faction and joining the Musavat and Neutral faction. Although the statement in the petition mentioned the formation of the Musavat and Neutral faction in place of the Musavat faction, the parliamentary records indicate that during this period, the faction operated under the name Musavat and Neutral.