Rahmon Nabiyev

Rahmon Nabiyevich Nabiyev (5 October 1930 – 11 April 1993) was a Tajikistani politician and engineer who served as the second president of Tajikistan from 1991 until his resignation in 1992. Having previously served in this role briefly for 13 days from September to October 1991, Nabiyev was the shortest-serving president in Tajikistani history and was also the first directly elected Tajikistani president.

Born into a family of farmers in Khujand, Nabiyev started working as an accountant on a collective farm at the age of 16 in 1946. In the same year he entered the Leninabad Agricultural College (now Agricultural University of Tajikistan) and graduated in 1949. In 1954, he began to work for two years as the chief engineer of the machine-tractor station in Isfisor. In 1961, Nabiyev joined politics and became the Minister of Agriculture in 1971, serving in this role until in 1973 where he became the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (head of government). Aged 43 upon assuming office, Nabiyev was the youngest Tajikistani head of government ever.

In 1982, Nabiyev became the first secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT) and thus the de facto leader of the country, having served in this role until in 1985 where he was ousted in a corruption scandal. In September 1991 shortly after independence, Nabiyev became the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan and thus the president. However, he stepped down 13 days later in early October following intense pressure to do so. Nabiyev participated in the subsequent presidential elections held the following month and was elected president despite accusations of fraud by opponents and was eventually sworn in as president for a second time on 2 December.

Nabiyev's presidency was marked by intense political instability, economic hardship, and discontent against his rule. In March 1992, a group of protests were formed against Nabiyev and his government which started the Tajikistani Revolution, demanding democratic reforms. However, the protesters were suppressed and thus the protests escalated into a civil war on 5 May. Four months later, Nabiyev was detained by opposition forces and held at gunpoint where he was forced to resign under pressure and did so at Dushanbe Airport. His resignation was officially accepted on 19 November during the 16th session of the Tajik Supreme Soviet which abolished the presidency.

On 11 April 1993, Nabiyev died under mysterious circumstances. While the official cause of death was a heart attack, there were other rumours stating that Nabiyev was either murdered or committed suicide. His family however, denied that Nabiyev died of a heart attack stating that he had no heart problems and instead believed that he was killed by pro-government forces. While Nabiyev's legacy is often overshadowed by Emomali Rahmon, his successor and the current president of Tajikistan, Nabiyev was remembered for playing a major role in the early history of Tajikistan while criticised for starting a civil war which killed up to 150,000 people.