Etibar Mammadov

Who is Etibar Mammadov?

Etibar Mammadov Salidar oglu is an Azerbaijani politician and founder and leader of Azerbaijan National Independence Party, an opposition party in Azerbaijan. Mammadov is also the Vice-Chairman of International Democrat Union.

Mammadov has graduated with a Bachelor's degree in History from Baku State University and starting from 1981 worked as a professor at the same institution. In 1987, he received his Ph.D. from Baku State University. He is claimed to have been Abulfaz Elchibey's protégé and was expelled from the university for his involvement in secret political activities in 1974-75. In 1988, Mammadov was one of the activists in Azerbaijani national democratic movement and was one of the co-founders of Interim Initiative Center of Popular Front of Azerbaijan. In 1989, he led protest movement. After the 1990 Black January events in Baku, he travelled to Moscow for a press conference but was arrested by KGB and imprisoned at Lefortovo prison for 9 months. He was pardoned after a public petition with 1.5 million signatures. In December 1991, Mammadov was elected to the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR.